Dynamic configuration of measurement gaps

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are techniques for wireless communication. In an aspect, a user equipment (UE) may receive, from a network entity, a request to provide an enhanced positioning measurement report comprising a positioning measurement and further comprising a report of components of a channel power delay profile (PDP), a report of a probability distribution of times of arrival (ToA), or both. The UE may determine an enhanced measurement period required by the UE to perform the enhanced positioning measurement, wherein the enhanced measurement period is longer than a standard measurement period required by the UE to perform a non-enhanced positioning measurement. The UE may perform the enhanced positioning measurement using the enhanced measurement period. The UE may provide the enhanced positioning measurement report to the network entity.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application for patent claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 63/076,668, entitled “DYNAMIC CONFIGURATIONOF MEASUREMENT GAPS,” filed Sep. 10, 2020, assigned to the assigneehereof, and expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 1. Field of the Disclosure

Aspects of the disclosure relate generally to wireless communications.

2. Description of the Related Art

Wireless communication systems have developed through variousgenerations, including a first-generation analog wireless phone service(1G), a second-generation (2G) digital wireless phone service (includinginterim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), a third-generation (3G) high speeddata, Internet-capable wireless service and a fourth-generation (4G)service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). There are presentlymany different types of wireless communication systems in use, includingcellular and personal communications service (PCS) systems. Examples ofknown cellular systems include the cellular analog advanced mobile phonesystem (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code divisionmultiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), timedivision multiple access (TDMA), the Global System for Mobilecommunications (GSM), etc.

A fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, referred to as New Radio(NR), enables higher data transfer speeds, greater numbers ofconnections, and better coverage, among other improvements. The 5Gstandard, according to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, isdesigned to provide higher data rates as compared to previous standards,more accurate positioning (e.g., based on reference signals forpositioning (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioningreference signals (PRS)) and other technical enhancements.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary relating to one or moreaspects disclosed herein. Thus, the following summary should not beconsidered an extensive overview relating to all contemplated aspects,nor should the following summary be considered to identify key orcritical elements relating to all contemplated aspects or to delineatethe scope associated with any particular aspect. Accordingly, thefollowing summary has the sole purpose to present certain conceptsrelating to one or more aspects relating to the mechanisms disclosedherein in a simplified form to precede the detailed descriptionpresented below.

In an aspect, a method includes receiving, from a network entity, arequest to provide an enhanced positioning measurement report comprisinga positioning measurement and further comprising a report of componentsof a channel power delay profile (PDP), a report of a probabilitydistribution of times of arrival (ToA), or both; determining an enhancedmeasurement period required by the UE to perform the enhancedpositioning measurement, wherein the enhanced measurement period islonger than a standard measurement period required by the UE to performa non-enhanced positioning measurement; performing the enhancedpositioning measurement using the enhanced measurement period; andproviding the enhanced positioning measurement report to the networkentity.

In an aspect, a method includes sending, to a UE, a request to providean enhanced positioning measurement report comprising a positioningmeasurement and further comprising a report of components of a channelPDP, a report of a probability distribution of ToA, or both; determiningan enhanced measurement period required by the UE to perform theenhanced positioning measurement, wherein the enhanced measurementperiod is longer than a standard measurement period required by the UEto perform a non-enhanced positioning measurement; and receiving, fromthe UE, the enhanced positioning measurement report.

In an aspect, a UE includes a memory; at least one transceiver; and atleast one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the atleast one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to:receive, via the at least one transceiver, from a network entity, arequest to provide an enhanced positioning measurement report comprisinga positioning measurement and further comprising a report of componentsof a channel PDP, a report of a probability distribution of ToA, orboth; determine an enhanced measurement period required by the UE toperform the enhanced positioning measurement, wherein the enhancedmeasurement period is longer than a standard measurement period requiredby the UE to perform a non-enhanced positioning measurement; perform theenhanced positioning measurement using the enhanced measurement period;and provide the enhanced positioning measurement report to the networkentity.

In an aspect, a network entity includes a memory; at least onetransceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to thememory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processorconfigured to: send, via the at least one transceiver, to a UE, arequest to provide an enhanced positioning measurement report comprisinga positioning measurement and further comprising a report of componentsof a channel PDP, a report of a probability distribution of ToA, orboth; determine an enhanced measurement period required by the UE toperform the enhanced positioning measurement, wherein the enhancedmeasurement period is longer than a standard measurement period requiredby the UE to perform a non-enhanced positioning measurement; andreceive, via the at least one transceiver, from the UE, the enhancedpositioning measurement report.

In an aspect, a UE includes means for receiving, from a network entity,a request to provide an enhanced positioning measurement reportcomprising a positioning measurement and further comprising a report ofcomponents of a channel PDP, a report of a probability distribution ofToA, or both; means for determining an enhanced measurement periodrequired by the UE to perform the enhanced positioning measurement,wherein the enhanced measurement period is longer than a standardmeasurement period required by the UE to perform a non-enhancedpositioning measurement; means for performing the enhanced positioningmeasurement using the enhanced measurement period; and means forproviding the enhanced positioning measurement report to the networkentity.

In an aspect, a network entity includes means for sending, to a UE, arequest to provide an enhanced positioning measurement report comprisinga positioning measurement and further comprising a report of componentsof a channel PDP, a report of a probability distribution of ToA, orboth; means for determining an enhanced measurement period required bythe UE to perform the enhanced positioning measurement, wherein theenhanced measurement period is longer than a standard measurement periodrequired by the UE to perform a non-enhanced positioning measurement;and means for receiving, from the UE, the enhanced positioningmeasurement report.

In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by a UE, cause theUE to: receive, from a network entity, a request to provide an enhancedpositioning measurement report comprising a positioning measurement andfurther comprising a report of components of a channel PDP, a report ofa probability distribution of ToA, or both; determine an enhancedmeasurement period required by the UE to perform the enhancedpositioning measurement, wherein the enhanced measurement period islonger than a standard measurement period required by the UE to performa non-enhanced positioning measurement; perform the enhanced positioningmeasurement using the enhanced measurement period; and provide theenhanced positioning measurement report to the network entity.

In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by a networkentity, cause the network entity to: send, to a UE, a request to providean enhanced positioning measurement report comprising a positioningmeasurement and further comprising a report of components of a channelPDP, a report of a probability distribution of ToA, or both; determinean enhanced measurement period required by the UE to perform theenhanced positioning measurement, wherein the enhanced measurementperiod is longer than a standard measurement period required by the UEto perform a non-enhanced positioning measurement; and receive, from theUE, the enhanced positioning measurement report.

Other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosedherein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on theaccompanying drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the description ofvarious aspects of the disclosure and are provided solely forillustration of the aspects and not limitation thereof.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communications system, accordingto aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate example wireless network structures,according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are simplified block diagrams of several sampleaspects of components that may be employed in a user equipment (UE), abase station, and a network entity, respectively, and configured tosupport communications as taught herein.

FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example frame structure, accordingto aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating various downlink channels within anexample downlink slot, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a scenario in which a user equipment (UE) onlyreceives non-line-of-sight (NLOS) positioning reference signals (PRSs).

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a triangulation error caused by NLOSPRSs.

FIG. 7 illustrates method in which both a channel response and aprobability of distribution is used to produce a more accurate estimateof the location of a UE according to some aspects.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate methods to derive a probability distributionaccording to some aspects.

FIG. 10 is a plot showing an example likelihood estimation according tosome aspects.

FIG. 11 is a plot showing the result of an example feature fusionaccording to some aspects.

FIG. 12 illustrates a process for determination of maximum likelihoodaccording to some aspects.

FIG. 13 shows a conventional calculation of a measurement period.

FIG. 14 shows calculation of an enhanced measurement period according tosome aspects.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of an example process associated with dynamicconfiguration of measurement gaps.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of an example process associated with dynamicconfiguration of measurement gaps.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the disclosure are provided in the following description andrelated drawings directed to various examples provided for illustrationpurposes. Alternate aspects may be devised without departing from thescope of the disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of thedisclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as notto obscure the relevant details of the disclosure.

The words “exemplary” and/or “example” are used herein to mean “servingas an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described hereinas “exemplary” and/or “example” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term“aspects of the disclosure” does not require that all aspects of thedisclosure include the discussed feature, advantage or mode ofoperation.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the information andsignals described below may be represented using any of a variety ofdifferent technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions,commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may bereferenced throughout the description below may be represented byvoltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles,optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending inpart on the particular application, in part on the desired design, inpart on the corresponding technology, etc.

Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions tobe performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will berecognized that various actions described herein can be performed byspecific circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits(ASICs)), by program instructions being executed by one or moreprocessors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequence(s)of actions described herein can be considered to be embodied entirelywithin any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumhaving stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that,upon execution, would cause or instruct an associated processor of adevice to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the variousaspects of the disclosure may be embodied in a number of differentforms, all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of theclaimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the aspects describedherein, the corresponding form of any such aspects may be describedherein as, for example, “logic configured to” perform the describedaction.

As used herein, the terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station” arenot intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular radioaccess technology (RAT), unless otherwise noted. In general, a UE may beany wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tabletcomputer, laptop computer, consumer asset locating device, wearable(e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR)headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.),Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicateover a wireless communications network. A UE may be mobile or may (e.g.,at certain times) be stationary, and may communicate with a radio accessnetwork (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” may be referred tointerchangeably as an “access terminal” or “AT,” a “client device,” a“wireless device,” a “subscriber device,” a “subscriber terminal,” a“subscriber station,” a “user terminal” or “UT,” a “mobile device,” a“mobile terminal,” a “mobile station,” or variations thereof. Generally,UEs can communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the corenetwork the UEs can be connected with external networks such as theInternet and with other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms of connectingto the core network and/or the Internet are also possible for the UEs,such as over wired access networks, wireless local area network (WLAN)networks (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE) 802.11 specification, etc.) and so on.

A base station may operate according to one of several RATs incommunication with UEs depending on the network in which it is deployed,and may be alternatively referred to as an access point (AP), a networknode, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), aNew Radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. A basestation may be used primarily to support wireless access by UEs,including supporting data, voice, and/or signaling connections for thesupported UEs. In some systems a base station may provide purely edgenode signaling functions while in other systems it may provideadditional control and/or network management functions. A communicationlink through which UEs can send signals to a base station is called anuplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse controlchannel, an access channel, etc.). A communication link through whichthe base station can send signals to UEs is called a downlink (DL) orforward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, abroadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein theterm traffic channel (TCH) can refer to either an uplink/reverse ordownlink/forward traffic channel.

The term “base station” may refer to a single physicaltransmission-reception point (TRP) or to multiple physical TRPs that mayor may not be co-located. For example, where the term “base station”refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna ofthe base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) ofthe base station. Where the term “base station” refers to multipleco-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs may be an array of antennas(e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where thebase station employs beamforming) of the base station. Where the term“base station” refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, thephysical TRPs may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network ofspatially separated antennas connected to a common source via atransport medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base stationconnected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-locatedphysical TRPs may be the serving base station receiving the measurementreport from the UE and a neighbor base station whose reference radiofrequency (RF) signals the UE is measuring. Because a TRP is the pointfrom which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, asused herein, references to transmission from or reception at a basestation are to be understood as referring to a particular TRP of thebase station.

In some implementations that support positioning of UEs, a base stationmay not support wireless access by UEs (e.g., may not support data,voice, and/or signaling connections for UEs), but may instead transmitreference signals to UEs to be measured by the UEs, and/or may receiveand measure signals transmitted by the UEs. Such a base station may bereferred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., when transmitting signals toUEs) and/or as a location measurement unit (e.g., when receiving andmeasuring signals from UEs).

An “RF signal” comprises an electromagnetic wave of a given frequencythat transports information through the space between a transmitter anda receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single “RFsignal” or multiple “RF signals” to a receiver. However, the receivermay receive multiple “RF signals” corresponding to each transmitted RFsignal due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals throughmultipath channels. The same transmitted RF signal on different pathsbetween the transmitter and receiver may be referred to as a “multipath”RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a“wireless signal” or simply a “signal” where it is clear from thecontext that the term “signal” refers to a wireless signal or an RFsignal.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communications system 100,according to aspects of the disclosure. The wireless communicationssystem 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide areanetwork (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled “BS”) andvarious UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macro cell basestations (high power cellular base stations) and/or small cell basestations (low power cellular base stations). In an aspect, the macrocell base stations may include eNBs and/or ng-eNBs where the wirelesscommunications system 100 corresponds to an LTE network, or gNBs wherethe wireless communications system 100 corresponds to a NR network, or acombination of both, and the small cell base stations may includefemtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

The base stations 102 may collectively form a RAN and interface with acore network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC))through backhaul links 122, and through the core network 170 to one ormore location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) ora secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)). Thelocation server(s) 172 may be part of core network 170 or may beexternal to core network 170. A location server 172 may be integratedwith a base station 102. A UE 104 may communicate with a location server172 directly or indirectly. For example, a UE 104 may communicate with alocation server 172 via the base station 102 that is currently servingthat UE 104. A UE 104 may also communicate with a location server 172through another path, such as via an application server (not shown), viaanother network, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) accesspoint (AP) (e.g., AP 150 described below), and so on. For signalingpurposes, communication between a UE 104 and a location server 172 maybe represented as an indirect connection (e.g., through the core network170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection128), with the intervening nodes (if any) omitted from a signalingdiagram for clarity.

In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may performfunctions that relate to one or more of transferring user data, radiochannel ciphering and deciphering, integrity protection, headercompression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dualconnectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setupand release, load balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS)messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimediabroadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment trace, RANinformation management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery ofwarning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each otherdirectly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC/5GC) over backhaul links134, which may be wired or wireless.

The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. Eachof the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for arespective geographic coverage area 110. In an aspect, one or more cellsmay be supported by a base station 102 in each geographic coverage area110. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used for communicationwith a base station (e.g., over some frequency resource, referred to asa carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, band, or the like), andmay be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier(PCI), an enhanced cell identifier (ECI), a virtual cell identifier(VCI), a cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) for distinguishing cellsoperating via the same or a different carrier frequency. In some cases,different cells may be configured according to different protocol types(e.g., machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT),enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access fordifferent types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a specific basestation, the term “cell” may refer to either or both of the logicalcommunication entity and the base station that supports it, depending onthe context. In addition, because a TRP is typically the physicaltransmission point of a cell, the terms “cell” and “TRP” may be usedinterchangeably. In some cases, the term “cell” may also refer to ageographic coverage area of a base station (e.g., a sector), insofar asa carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication withinsome portion of geographic coverage areas 110.

While neighboring macro cell base station 102 geographic coverage areas110 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover region), some of thegeographic coverage areas 110 may be substantially overlapped by alarger geographic coverage area 110. For example, a small cell basestation 102′ (labeled “SC” for “small cell”) may have a geographiccoverage area 110′ that substantially overlaps with the geographiccoverage area 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A networkthat includes both small cell and macro cell base stations may be knownas a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also includehome eNBs (HeNBs), which may provide service to a restricted group knownas a closed subscriber group (CSG).

The communication links 120 between the base stations 102 and the UEs104 may include uplink (also referred to as reverse link) transmissionsfrom a UE 104 to a base station 102 and/or downlink (DL) (also referredto as forward link) transmissions from a base station 102 to a UE 104.The communication links 120 may use MIMO antenna technology, includingspatial multiplexing, beamforming, and/or transmit diversity. Thecommunication links 120 may be through one or more carrier frequencies.Allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to downlink anduplink (e.g., more or less carriers may be allocated for downlink thanfor uplink).

The wireless communications system 100 may further include a wirelesslocal area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 in communication withWLAN stations (STAs) 152 via communication links 154 in an unlicensedfrequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in an unlicensedfrequency spectrum, the WLAN STAs 152 and/or the WLAN AP 150 may performa clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen before talk (LBT) procedureprior to communicating in order to determine whether the channel isavailable.

The small cell base station 102′ may operate in a licensed and/or anunlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequencyspectrum, the small cell base station 102′ may employ LTE or NRtechnology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum as usedby the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102′, employing LTE/5Gin an unlicensed frequency spectrum, may boost coverage to and/orincrease capacity of the access network. NR in unlicensed spectrum maybe referred to as NR-U. LTE in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred toas LTE-U, licensed assisted access (LAA), or MulteFire.

The wireless communications system 100 may further include a millimeterwave (mmW) base station 180 that may operate in mmW frequencies and/ornear mmW frequencies in communication with a UE 182. Extremely highfrequency (EHF) is part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHFhas a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeterand 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this band may be referred to as amillimeter wave. Near mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with awavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) bandextends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, also referred to as centimeter wave.Communications using the mmW/near mmW radio frequency band have highpath loss and a relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and theUE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmit and/or receive) over a mmWcommunication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path lossand short range. Further, it will be appreciated that in alternativeconfigurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit usingmmW or near mmW and beamforming. Accordingly, it will be appreciatedthat the foregoing illustrations are merely examples and should not beconstrued to limit the various aspects disclosed herein.

Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in aspecific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a basestation) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in alldirections (omni-directionally). With transmit beamforming, the networknode determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located(relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a strongerdownlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing afaster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal for the receivingdevice(s). To change the directionality of the RF signal whentransmitting, a network node can control the phase and relativeamplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters thatare broadcasting the RF signal. For example, a network node may use anarray of antennas (referred to as a “phased array” or an “antennaarray”) that creates a beam of RF waves that can be “steered” to pointin different directions, without actually moving the antennas.Specifically, the RF current from the transmitter is fed to theindividual antennas with the correct phase relationship so that theradio waves from the separate antennas add together to increase theradiation in a desired direction, while cancelling to suppress radiationin undesired directions.

Transmit beams may be quasi-co-located, meaning that they appear to thereceiver (e.g., a UE) as having the same parameters, regardless ofwhether or not the transmitting antennas of the network node themselvesare physically co-located. In NR, there are four types ofquasi-co-location (QCL) relations. Specifically, a QCL relation of agiven type means that certain parameters about a second reference RFsignal on a second beam can be derived from information about a sourcereference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RFsignal is QCL Type A, the receiver can use the source reference RFsignal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, anddelay spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the samechannel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type B, the receivercan use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift andDoppler spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the samechannel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type C, the receivercan use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift andaverage delay of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the samechannel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type D, the receivercan use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial receiveparameter of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the samechannel.

In receive beamforming, the receiver uses a receive beam to amplify RFsignals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver canincrease the gain setting and/or adjust the phase setting of an array ofantennas in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., to increase thegain level of) the RF signals received from that direction. Thus, when areceiver is said to beamform in a certain direction, it means the beamgain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along otherdirections, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest comparedto the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams availableto the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength(e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal receivedquality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) ofthe RF signals received from that direction.

Transmit and receive beams may be spatially related. A spatial relationmeans that parameters for a second beam (e.g., a transmit or receivebeam) for a second reference signal can be derived from informationabout a first beam (e.g., a receive beam or a transmit beam) for a firstreference signal. For example, a UE may use a particular receive beam toreceive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., synchronizationsignal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmitbeam for sending an uplink reference signal (e.g., sounding referencesignal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of thereceive beam.

Note that a “downlink” beam may be either a transmit beam or a receivebeam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base stationis forming the downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to a UE, thedownlink beam is a transmit beam. If the UE is forming the downlinkbeam, however, it is a receive beam to receive the downlink referencesignal. Similarly, an “uplink” beam may be either a transmit beam or areceive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a basestation is forming the uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, and ifa UE is forming the uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

The electromagnetic spectrum is often subdivided, based onfrequency/wavelength, into various classes, bands, channels, etc. In 5GNR two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency rangedesignations FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz). Itshould be understood that although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6GHz, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “Sub-6 GHz” band invarious documents and articles. A similar nomenclature issue sometimesoccurs with regard to FR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably)as a “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, despite beingdifferent from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz-300 GHz)which is identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)as a “millimeter wave” band.

The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-bandfrequencies. Recent 5G NR studies have identified an operating band forthese mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125GHz-24.25 GHz). Frequency bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1characteristics and/or FR2 characteristics, and thus may effectivelyextend features of FR1 and/or FR2 into mid-band frequencies. Inaddition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operatingbands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1(52.6 GHz-71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz-114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz-300GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

With the above aspects in mind, unless specifically stated otherwise, itshould be understood that the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like if usedherein may broadly represent frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz,may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. Further, unlessspecifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term“millimeter wave” or the like if used herein may broadly representfrequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2,FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, and/or FR5, or may be within the EHF band.

In a multi-carrier system, such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies isreferred to as the “primary carrier” or “anchor carrier” or “primaryserving cell” or “PCell,” and the remaining carrier frequencies arereferred to as “secondary carriers” or “secondary serving cells” or“SCells.” In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrieroperating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by a UE 104/182and the cell in which the UE 104/182 either performs the initial radioresource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiatesthe RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carriercarries all common and UE-specific control channels, and may be acarrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case).A secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g.,FR2) that may be configured once the RRC connection is establishedbetween the UE 104 and the anchor carrier and that may be used toprovide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carriermay be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier maycontain only necessary signaling information and signals, for example,those that are UE-specific may not be present in the secondary carrier,since both primary uplink and downlink carriers are typicallyUE-specific. This means that different UEs 104/182 in a cell may havedifferent downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplinkprimary carriers. The network is able to change the primary carrier ofany UE 104/182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance theload on different carriers. Because a “serving cell” (whether a PCell oran SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency/component carrier overwhich some base station is communicating, the term “cell,” “servingcell,” “component carrier,” “carrier frequency,” and the like can beused interchangeably.

For example, still referring to FIG. 1, one of the frequencies utilizedby the macro cell base stations 102 may be an anchor carrier (or“PCell”) and other frequencies utilized by the macro cell base stations102 and/or the mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers(“SCells”). The simultaneous transmission and/or reception of multiplecarriers enables the UE 104/182 to significantly increase its datatransmission and/or reception rates. For example, two 20 MHz aggregatedcarriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically lead to atwo-fold increase in data rate (i.e., 40 MHz), compared to that attainedby a single 20 MHz carrier.

The wireless communications system 100 may further include a UE 164 thatmay communicate with a macro cell base station 102 over a communicationlink 120 and/or the mmW base station 180 over a mmW communication link184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 may support a PCelland one or more SCells for the UE 164 and the mmW base station 180 maysupport one or more SCells for the UE 164.

In some cases, the UE 164 and the UE 182 may be capable of sidelinkcommunication. Sidelink-capable UEs (SL-UEs) may communicate with basestations 102 over communication links 120 using the Uu interface (i.e.,the air interface between a UE and a base station). SL-UEs (e.g., UE164, UE 182) may also communicate directly with each other over awireless sidelink 160 using the PC5 interface (i.e., the air interfacebetween sidelink-capable UEs). A wireless sidelink (or just “sidelink”)is an adaptation of the core cellular (e.g., LTE, NR) standard thatallows direct communication between two or more UEs without thecommunication needing to go through a base station. Sidelinkcommunication may be unicast or multicast, and may be used fordevice-to-device (D2D) media-sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication (e.g., cellularV2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communication, etc.),emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more of a group of SL-UEsutilizing sidelink communications may be within the geographic coveragearea 110 of a base station 102. Other SL-UEs in such a group may beoutside the geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 102 or beotherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station 102. Insome cases, groups of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communicationsmay utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each SL-UE transmits toevery other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, a base station 102facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communications. Inother cases, sidelink communications are carried out between SL-UEswithout the involvement of a base station 102.

In an aspect, the sidelink 160 may operate over a wireless communicationmedium of interest, which may be shared with other wirelesscommunications between other vehicles and/or infrastructure accesspoints, as well as other RATs. A “medium” may be composed of one or moretime, frequency, and/or space communication resources (e.g.,encompassing one or more channels across one or more carriers)associated with wireless communication between one or moretransmitter/receiver pairs. In an aspect, the medium of interest maycorrespond to at least a portion of an unlicensed frequency band sharedamong various RATs. Although different licensed frequency bands havebeen reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by a governmententity such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the UnitedStates), these systems, in particular those employing small cell accesspoints, have recently extended operation into unlicensed frequency bandssuch as the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-MI) bandused by wireless local area network (WLAN) technologies, most notablyIEEE 802.11x WLAN technologies generally referred to as “Wi-Fi.” Examplesystems of this type include different variants of CDMA systems, TDMAsystems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single-carrierFDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, and so on.

Note that although FIG. 1 only illustrates two of the UEs as SL-UEs(i.e., UEs 164 and 182), any of the illustrated UEs may be SL-UEs.Further, although only UE 182 was described as being capable ofbeamforming, any of the illustrated UEs, including UE 164, may becapable of beamforming. Where SL-UEs are capable of beamforming, theymay beamform towards each other (i.e., towards other SL-UEs), towardsother UEs (e.g., UEs 104), towards base stations (e.g., base stations102, 180, small cell 102′, WLAN AP 150), etc. Thus, in some cases, UEs164 and 182 may utilize beamforming over sidelink 160.

In the example of FIG. 1, any of the illustrated UEs (shown in FIG. 1 asa single UE 104 for simplicity) may receive signals 124 from one or moreEarth orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites). In anaspect, the SVs 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that aUE 104 can use as an independent source of location information. Asatellite positioning system typically includes a system of transmitters(e.g., SVs 112) positioned to enable receivers (e.g., UEs 104) todetermine their location on or above the Earth based, at least in part,on positioning signals (e.g., signals 124) received from thetransmitters. Such a transmitter typically transmits a signal markedwith a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code of a set number of chips.While typically located in SVs 112, transmitters may sometimes belocated on ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and/orother UEs 104. A UE 104 may include one or more dedicated receiversspecifically designed to receive signals 124 for deriving geo locationinformation from the SVs 112.

In a satellite positioning system, the use of signals 124 can beaugmented by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) thatmay be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or moreglobal and/or regional navigation satellite systems. For example an SBASmay include an augmentation system(s) that provides integrityinformation, differential corrections, etc., such as the Wide AreaAugmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary NavigationOverlay Service (EGNOS), the Multi-functional Satellite AugmentationSystem (MSAS), the Global Positioning System (GPS) Aided Geo AugmentedNavigation or GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation system (GAGAN), and/orthe like. Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system mayinclude any combination of one or more global and/or regional navigationsatellites associated with such one or more satellite positioningsystems.

In an aspect, SVs 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of oneor more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, an SV 112 isconnected to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTNgateway, or gateway), which in turn is connected to an element in a 5Gnetwork, such as a modified base station 102 (without a terrestrialantenna) or a network node in a 5GC. This element would in turn provideaccess to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately to entitiesexternal to the 5G network, such as Internet web servers and other userdevices. In that way, a UE 104 may receive communication signals (e.g.,signals 124) from an SV 112 instead of, or in addition to, communicationsignals from a terrestrial base station 102.

The wireless communications system 100 may further include one or moreUEs, such as UE 190, that connects indirectly to one or morecommunication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D)peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as “sidelinks”). In the example ofFIG. 1, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs 104 connectedto one of the base stations 102 (e.g., through which UE 190 mayindirectly obtain cellular connectivity) and a D2D P2P link 194 withWLAN STA 152 connected to the WLAN AP 150 (through which UE 190 mayindirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity). In an example, theD2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be supported with any well-known D2D RAT,such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, and so on.

FIG. 2A illustrates an example wireless network structure 200. Forexample, a 5GC 210 (also referred to as a Next Generation Core (NGC))can be viewed functionally as control plane (C-plane) functions 214(e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gatewayselection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212, (e.g., UEgateway function, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.) whichoperate cooperatively to form the core network. User plane interface(NG-U) 213 and control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 tothe 5GC 210 and specifically to the user plane functions 212 and controlplane functions 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, anng-eNB 224 may also be connected to the 5GC 210 via NG-C 215 to thecontrol plane functions 214 and NG-U 213 to user plane functions 212.Further, ng-eNB 224 may directly communicate with gNB 222 via a backhaulconnection 223. In some configurations, a Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations includeone or more of both ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. Either (or both) gNB 222or ng-eNB 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of theUEs described herein).

Another optional aspect may include a location server 230, which may bein communication with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance forUE(s) 204. The location server 230 can be implemented as a plurality ofseparate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different softwaremodules on a single server, different software modules spread acrossmultiple physical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond toa single server. The location server 230 can be configured to supportone or more location services for UEs 204 that can connect to thelocation server 230 via the core network, 5GC 210, and/or via theInternet (not illustrated). Further, the location server 230 may beintegrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively may beexternal to the core network (e.g., a third party server, such as anoriginal equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or service server).

FIG. 2B illustrates another example wireless network structure 250. A5GC 260 (which may correspond to 5GC 210 in FIG. 2A) can be viewedfunctionally as control plane functions, provided by an access andmobility management function (AMF) 264, and user plane functions,provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262, which operate cooperativelyto form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264include registration management, connection management, reachabilitymanagement, mobility management, lawful interception, transport forsession management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., anyof the UEs described herein) and a session management function (SMF)266, transparent proxy services for routing SM messages, accessauthentication and access authorization, transport for short messageservice (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and the short message servicefunction (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF).The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF)(not shown) and the UE 204, and receives the intermediate key that wasestablished as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In thecase of authentication based on a UMTS (universal mobiletelecommunications system) subscriber identity module (USIM), the AMF264 retrieves the security material from the AUSF. The functions of theAMF 264 also include security context management (SCM). The SCM receivesa key from the SEAF that it uses to derive access-network specific keys.The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes location servicesmanagement for regulatory services, transport for location servicesmessages between the UE 204 and a location management function (LMF) 270(which acts as a location server 230), transport for location servicesmessages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, evolved packet system(EPS) bearer identifier allocation for interworking with the EPS, and UE204 mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF 264 also supportsfunctionalities for non-3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project)access networks.

Functions of the UPF 262 include acting as an anchor point forintra-/inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an externalprotocol data unit (PDU) session point of interconnect to a data network(not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection,user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, trafficsteering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usagereporting, quality of service (QoS) handling for the user plane (e.g.,uplink/downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in thedownlink), uplink traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoSflow mapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink anddownlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notificationtriggering, and sending and forwarding of one or more “end markers” tothe source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support transfer of locationservices messages over a user plane between the UE 204 and a locationserver, such as an SLP 272.

The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internetprotocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and controlof user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering at the UPF262 to route traffic to the proper destination, control of part ofpolicy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. Theinterface over which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 isreferred to as the N11 interface.

Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which may be incommunication with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for UEs204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers(e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on asingle server, different software modules spread across multiplephysical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond to a singleserver. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more locationservices for UEs 204 that can connect to the LMF 270 via the corenetwork, 5GC 260, and/or via the Internet (not illustrated). The SLP 272may support similar functions to the LMF 270, but whereas the LMF 270may communicate with the AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UEs 204 over a controlplane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to convey signalingmessages and not voice or data), the SLP 272 may communicate with UEs204 and external clients (e.g., third-party server 274) over a userplane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and/or data likethe transmission control protocol (TCP) and/or IP).

Yet another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274, whichmay be in communication with the LMF 270, the SLP 272, the 5GC 260(e.g., via the AMF 264 and/or the UPF 262), the NG-RAN 220, and/or theUE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., a location estimate) forthe UE 204. As such, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may bereferred to as a location services (LCS) client or an external client.The third-party server 274 can be implemented as a plurality of separateservers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software moduleson a single server, different software modules spread across multiplephysical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond to a singleserver.

User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC260, and specifically the UPF 262 and AMF 264, respectively, to one ormore gNBs 222 and/or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220. The interfacebetween gNB(s) 222 and/or ng-eNB(s) 224 and the AMF 264 is referred toas the “N2” interface, and the interface between gNB(s) 222 and/orng-eNB(s) 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the “N3” interface. ThegNB(s) 222 and/or ng-eNB(s) 224 of the NG-RAN 220 may communicatedirectly with each other via backhaul connections 223, referred to asthe “Xn-C” interface. One or more of gNBs 222 and/or ng-eNBs 224 maycommunicate with one or more UEs 204 over a wireless interface, referredto as the “Uu” interface.

The functionality of a gNB 222 may be divided between a gNB central unit(gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB distributed units (gNB-DUs) 228, and oneor more gNB radio units (gNB-RUs) 229. A gNB-CU 226 is a logical nodethat includes the base station functions of transferring user data,mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, sessionmanagement, and the like, except for those functions allocatedexclusively to the gNB-DU(s) 228. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226generally host the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptationprotocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocolsof the gNB 222. A gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that generally hosts theradio link control (RLC) and medium access control (MAC) layer of thegNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228can support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only onegNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and the one or moregNB-DUs 228 is referred to as the “F1” interface. The physical (PHY)layer functionality of a gNB 222 is generally hosted by one or morestandalone gNB-RUs 229 that perform functions such as poweramplification and signal transmission/reception. The interface between agNB-DU 228 and a gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the “Fx” interface. Thus,a UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCPlayers, with a gNB-DU 228 via the RLC and MAC layers, and with a gNB-RU229 via the PHY layer.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate several example components (representedby corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated into a UE 302 (whichmay correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304(which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), anda network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any of thenetwork functions described herein, including the location server 230and the LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent from the NG-RAN 220and/or 5GC 210/260 infrastructure depicted in FIGS. 2A and 2B, such as aprivate network) to support the file transmission operations as taughtherein. It will be appreciated that these components may be implementedin different types of apparatuses in different implementations (e.g., inan ASIC, in a system-on-chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated componentsmay also be incorporated into other apparatuses in a communicationsystem. For example, other apparatuses in a system may includecomponents similar to those described to provide similar functionality.Also, a given apparatus may contain one or more of the components. Forexample, an apparatus may include multiple transceiver components thatenable the apparatus to operate on multiple carriers and/or communicatevia different technologies.

The UE 302 and the base station 304 each include one or more wirelesswide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, respectively,providing means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, meansfor receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means forrefraining from transmitting, etc.) via one or more wirelesscommunication networks (not shown), such as an NR network, an LTEnetwork, a GSM network, and/or the like. The WWAN transceivers 310 and350 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356,respectively, for communicating with other network nodes, such as otherUEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc., via at leastone designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over a wirelesscommunication medium of interest (e.g., some set of time/frequencyresources in a particular frequency spectrum). The WWAN transceivers 310and 350 may be variously configured for transmitting and encodingsignals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, and soon), respectively, and, conversely, for receiving and decoding signals318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, and soon), respectively, in accordance with the designated RAT. Specifically,the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 include one or more transmitters 314and 354, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and358, respectively, and one or more receivers 312 and 352, respectively,for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively.

The UE 302 and the base station 304 each also include, at least in somecases, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360,respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may beconnected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and providemeans for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means forreceiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refrainingfrom transmitting, etc.) with other network nodes, such as other UEs,access points, base stations, etc., via at least one designated RAT(e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth®, Zigbee®, Z-Wave®, PC5, dedicatedshort-range communications (DSRC), wireless access for vehicularenvironments (WAVE), near-field communication (NFC), etc.) over awireless communication medium of interest. The short-range wirelesstransceivers 320 and 360 may be variously configured for transmittingand encoding signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications,information, and so on), respectively, and, conversely, for receivingand decoding signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications,information, pilots, and so on), respectively, in accordance with thedesignated RAT. Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 320and 360 include one or more transmitters 324 and 364, respectively, fortransmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, respectively, and one ormore receivers 322 and 362, respectively, for receiving and decodingsignals 328 and 368, respectively. As specific examples, the short-rangewireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be WiFi transceivers, Bluetooth®transceivers, Zigbee® and/or Z-Wave® transceivers, NFC transceivers, orvehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and/or vehicle-to-everything (V2X)transceivers.

The UE 302 and the base station 304 also include, at least in somecases, satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. The satellite signalreceivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and376, respectively, and may provide means for receiving and/or measuringsatellite positioning/communication signals 338 and 378, respectively.Where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellitepositioning system receivers, the satellite positioning/communicationsignals 338 and 378 may be global positioning system (GPS) signals,global navigation satellite system (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals,Beidou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC),Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. Where the satellite signalreceivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, thesatellite positioning/communication signals 338 and 378 may becommunication signals (e.g., carrying control and/or user data)originating from a 5G network. The satellite signal receivers 330 and370 may comprise any suitable hardware and/or software for receiving andprocessing satellite positioning/communication signals 338 and 378,respectively. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may requestinformation and operations as appropriate from the other systems, and,at least in some cases, perform calculations to determine locations ofthe UE 302 and the base station 304, respectively, using measurementsobtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm.

The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include one or morenetwork transceivers 380 and 390, respectively, providing means forcommunicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, etc.)with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, othernetwork entities 306). For example, the base station 304 may employ theone or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other basestations 304 or network entities 306 over one or more wired or wirelessbackhaul links. As another example, the network entity 306 may employthe one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or morebase station 304 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, orwith other network entities 306 over one or more wired or wireless corenetwork interfaces.

A transceiver may be configured to communicate over a wired or wirelesslink. A transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wirelesstransceiver) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314,324, 354, 364) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352,362). A transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., embodyingtransmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry in a single device) in someimplementations, may comprise separate transmitter circuitry andseparate receiver circuitry in some implementations, or may be embodiedin other ways in other implementations. The transmitter circuitry andreceiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers380 and 390 in some implementations) may be coupled to one or more wirednetwork interface ports. Wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g.,transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to aplurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as anantenna array, that permits the respective apparatus (e.g., UE 302, basestation 304) to perform transmit “beamforming,” as described herein.Similarly, wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352,362) may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g.,antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, that permits therespective apparatus (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receivebeamforming, as described herein. In an aspect, the transmittercircuitry and receiver circuitry may share the same plurality ofantennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the respectiveapparatus can only receive or transmit at a given time, not both at thesame time. A wireless transceiver (e.g., WWAN transceivers 310 and 350,short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include anetwork listen module (NLM) or the like for performing variousmeasurements.

As used herein, the various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers310, 320, 350, and 360, and network transceivers 380 and 390 in someimplementations) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380and 390 in some implementations) may generally be characterized as “atransceiver,” “at least one transceiver,” or “one or more transceivers.”As such, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wirelesstransceiver may be inferred from the type of communication performed.For example, backhaul communication between network devices or serverswill generally relate to signaling via a wired transceiver, whereaswireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station(e.g., base station 304) will generally relate to signaling via awireless transceiver.

The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 alsoinclude other components that may be used in conjunction with theoperations as disclosed herein. The UE 302, the base station 304, andthe network entity 306 include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394,respectively, for providing functionality relating to, for example,wireless communication, and for providing other processingfunctionality. The processors 332, 384, and 394 may therefore providemeans for processing, such as means for determining, means forcalculating, means for receiving, means for transmitting, means forindicating, etc. In an aspect, the processors 332, 384, and 394 mayinclude, for example, one or more general purpose processors, multi-coreprocessors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signalprocessors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), otherprogrammable logic devices or processing circuitry, or variouscombinations thereof.

The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 includememory circuitry implementing memories 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., eachincluding a memory device), respectively, for maintaining information(e.g., information indicative of reserved resources, thresholds,parameters, and so on). The memories 340, 386, and 396 may thereforeprovide means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining,etc. In some cases, the UE 302, the base station 304, and the networkentity 306 may include positioning component 342, 388, and 398,respectively. The positioning component 342, 388, and 398 may behardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the processors 332,384, and 394, respectively, that, when executed, cause the UE 302, thebase station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform thefunctionality described herein. In other aspects, the positioningcomponent 342, 388, and 398 may be external to the processors 332, 384,and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated withanother processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the positioningcomponent 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in the memories340, 386, and 396, respectively, that, when executed by the processors332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processingsystem, etc.), cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the networkentity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. FIG. 3Aillustrates possible locations of the positioning component 342, whichmay be, for example, part of the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, thememory 340, the one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof,or may be a standalone component. FIG. 3B illustrates possible locationsof the positioning component 388, which may be, for example, part of theone or more WWAN transceivers 350, the memory 386, the one or moreprocessors 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalonecomponent. FIG. 3C illustrates possible locations of the positioningcomponent 398, which may be, for example, part of the one or morenetwork transceivers 390, the memory 396, the one or more processors394, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component.

The UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to the one ormore processors 332 to provide means for sensing or detecting movementand/or orientation information that is independent of motion dataderived from signals received by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310,the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and/or thesatellite signal receiver 330. By way of example, the sensor(s) 344 mayinclude an accelerometer (e.g., a micro-electrical mechanical systems(MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), analtimeter (e.g., a barometric pressure altimeter), and/or any other typeof movement detection sensor. Moreover, the sensor(s) 344 may include aplurality of different types of devices and combine their outputs inorder to provide motion information. For example, the sensor(s) 344 mayuse a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and orientation sensorsto provide the ability to compute positions in two-dimensional (2D)and/or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems.

In addition, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 providing meansfor providing indications (e.g., audible and/or visual indications) to auser and/or for receiving user input (e.g., upon user actuation of asensing device such a keypad, a touch screen, a microphone, and so on).Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 mayalso include user interfaces.

Referring to the one or more processors 384 in more detail, in thedownlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to theprocessor 384. The one or more processors 384 may implementfunctionality for an RRC layer, a packet data convergence protocol(PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium accesscontrol (MAC) layer. The one or more processors 384 may provide RRClayer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information(e.g., master information block (MIB), system information blocks(SIBs)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRCconnection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRCconnection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configurationfor UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated withheader compression/decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering,integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover supportfunctions; RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upperlayer PDUs, error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ),concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units(SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC dataPDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping betweenlogical channels and transport channels, scheduling informationreporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channelprioritization.

The transmitter 354 and the receiver 352 may implement Layer-1 (L1)functionality associated with various signal processing functions.Layer-1, which includes a physical (PHY) layer, may include errordetection on the transport channels, forward error correction (FEC)coding/decoding of the transport channels, interleaving, rate matching,mapping onto physical channels, modulation/demodulation of physicalchannels, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handlesmapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes(e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying(QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation(M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split intoparallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with areference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and/or frequency domain, andthen combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) toproduce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream.The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatialstreams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used todetermine the coding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatialprocessing. The channel estimate may be derived from a reference signaland/or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 302. Eachspatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with a respectivespatial stream for transmission.

At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives a signal through its respectiveantenna(s) 316. The receiver 312 recovers information modulated onto anRF carrier and provides the information to the one or more processors332. The transmitter 314 and the receiver 312 implement Layer-1functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Thereceiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information torecover any spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatialstreams are destined for the UE 302, they may be combined by thereceiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The receiver 312 thenconverts the OFDM symbol stream from the time-domain to the frequencydomain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signalcomprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDMsignal. The symbols on each subcarrier, and the reference signal, arerecovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signalconstellation points transmitted by the base station 304. These softdecisions may be based on channel estimates computed by a channelestimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and de-interleaved torecover the data and control signals that were originally transmitted bythe base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and controlsignals are then provided to the one or more processors 332, whichimplements Layer-3 (L3) and Layer-2 (L2) functionality.

In the uplink, the one or more processors 332 provides demultiplexingbetween transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering,header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IPpackets from the core network. The one or more processors 332 are alsoresponsible for error detection.

Similar to the functionality described in connection with the downlinktransmission by the base station 304, the one or more processors 332provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information(e.g., MIB, SIBs) acquisition, RRC connections, and measurementreporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with headercompression/decompression, and security (ciphering, deciphering,integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionalityassociated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correctionthrough ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs,re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; andMAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channelsand transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks(TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling informationreporting, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request(HARM), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator from a referencesignal or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 may be used bythe transmitter 314 to select the appropriate coding and modulationschemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streamsgenerated by the transmitter 314 may be provided to different antenna(s)316. The transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with a respectivespatial stream for transmission.

The uplink transmission is processed at the base station 304 in a mannersimilar to that described in connection with the receiver function atthe UE 302. The receiver 352 receives a signal through its respectiveantenna(s) 356. The receiver 352 recovers information modulated onto anRF carrier and provides the information to the one or more processors384.

In the uplink, the one or more processors 384 provides demultiplexingbetween transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering,header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packetsfrom the UE 302. IP packets from the one or more processors 384 may beprovided to the core network. The one or more processors 384 are alsoresponsible for error detection.

For convenience, the UE 302, the base station 304, and/or the networkentity 306 are shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C as including variouscomponents that may be configured according to the various examplesdescribed herein. It will be appreciated, however, that the illustratedcomponents may have different functionality in different designs. Inparticular, various components in FIGS. 3A to 3C are optional inalternative configurations and the various aspects includeconfigurations that may vary due to design choice, costs, use of thedevice, or other considerations. For example, in case of FIG. 3A, aparticular implementation of UE 302 may omit the WWAN transceiver(s) 310(e.g., a wearable device or tablet computer or PC or laptop may haveWi-Fi and/or Bluetooth capability without cellular capability), or mayomit the short-range wireless transceiver(s) 320 (e.g., cellular-only,etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 330, or may omit thesensor(s) 344, and so on. In another example, in case of FIG. 3B, aparticular implementation of the base station 304 may omit the WWANtransceiver(s) 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi “hotspot” access point withoutcellular capability), or may omit the short-range wirelesstransceiver(s) 360 (e.g., cellular-only, etc.), or may omit thesatellite receiver 370, and so on. For brevity, illustration of thevarious alternative configurations is not provided herein, but would bereadily understandable to one skilled in the art.

The various components of the UE 302, the base station 304, and thenetwork entity 306 may be communicatively coupled to each other overdata buses 334, 382, and 392, respectively. In an aspect, the data buses334, 382, and 392 may form, or be part of, a communication interface ofthe UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306,respectively. For example, where different logical entities are embodiedin the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionalityincorporated into the same base station 304), the data buses 334, 382,and 392 may provide communication between them.

The components of FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C may be implemented in variousways. In some implementations, the components of FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3Cmay be implemented in one or more circuits such as, for example, one ormore processors and/or one or more ASICs (which may include one or moreprocessors). Here, each circuit may use and/or incorporate at least onememory component for storing information or executable code used by thecircuit to provide this functionality. For example, some or all of thefunctionality represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented byprocessor and memory component(s) of the UE 302 (e.g., by execution ofappropriate code and/or by appropriate configuration of processorcomponents). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented byblocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by processor and memorycomponent(s) of the base station 304 (e.g., by execution of appropriatecode and/or by appropriate configuration of processor components). Also,some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390 to 398 may beimplemented by processor and memory component(s) of the network entity306 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and/or by appropriateconfiguration of processor components). For simplicity, variousoperations, acts, and/or functions are described herein as beingperformed “by a UE,” “by a base station,” “by a network entity,” etc.However, as will be appreciated, such operations, acts, and/or functionsmay actually be performed by specific components or combinations ofcomponents of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc.,such as the processors 332, 384, 394, the transceivers 310, 320, 350,and 360, the memories 340, 386, and 396, the positioning component 342,388, and 398, etc.

In some designs, the network entity 306 may be implemented as a corenetwork component. In other designs, the network entity 306 may bedistinct from a network operator or operation of the cellular networkinfrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and/or 5GC 210/260). For example, thenetwork entity 306 may be a component of a private network that may beconfigured to communicate with the UE 302 via the base station 304 orindependently from the base station 304 (e.g., over a non-cellularcommunication link, such as WiFi).

Various frame structures may be used to support downlink and uplinktransmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs).

FIG. 4A is a diagram 400 illustrating an example frame structure,according to aspects of the disclosure. The frame structure may be adownlink or uplink frame structure. Other wireless communicationstechnologies may have different frame structures and/or differentchannels.

LTE, and in some cases NR, utilizes OFDM on the downlink andsingle-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink.Unlike LTE, however, NR has an option to use OFDM on the uplink as well.OFDM and SC-FDM partition the system bandwidth into multiple (K)orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to as tones,bins, etc. Each subcarrier may be modulated with data. In general,modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain with OFDM and in thetime domain with SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers may befixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) may be dependent on thesystem bandwidth. For example, the spacing of the subcarriers may be 15kilohertz (kHz) and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) maybe 12 subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Consequently, the nominal FFT size maybe equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048 for system bandwidth of 1.25,2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), respectively. The system bandwidthmay also be partitioned into subbands. For example, a subband may cover1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16subbands for system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz,respectively.

LTE supports a single numerology (subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbollength, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple numerologies (μ),for example, subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz (μ=0), 30 kHz (μ=1), 60 kHz(μ=2), 120 kHz (μ=3), and 240 kHz (μ=4) or greater may be available. Ineach subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per slot. For 15 kHz SCS(μ=0), there is one slot per subframe, 10 slots per frame, the slotduration is 1 millisecond (ms), the symbol duration is 66.7 microseconds(μs), and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFTsize is 50. For 30 kHz SCS (μ=1), there are two slots per subframe, 20slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.5 ms, the symbol duration is33.3 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFTsize is 100. For 60 kHz SCS (μ=2), there are four slots per subframe, 40slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.25 ms, the symbol duration is16.7 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFTsize is 200. For 120 kHz SCS (μ=3), there are eight slots per subframe,80 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.125 ms, the symbol durationis 8.33 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4KFFT size is 400. For 240 kHz SCS (μ=4), there are 16 slots per subframe,160 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.0625 ms, the symbol durationis 4.17 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4KFFT size is 800.

In the example of FIG. 4A, a numerology of 15 kHz is used. Thus, in thetime domain, a 10 ms frame is divided into 10 equally sized subframes of1 ms each, and each subframe includes one time slot. In FIG. 4A, time isrepresented horizontally (on the X axis) with time increasing from leftto right, while frequency is represented vertically (on the Y axis) withfrequency increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top.

A resource grid may be used to represent time slots, each time slotincluding one or more time-concurrent resource blocks (RBs) (alsoreferred to as physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. Theresource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs).An RE may correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and onesubcarrier in the frequency domain. In the numerology of FIG. 4A, for anormal cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers inthe frequency domain and seven consecutive symbols in the time domain,for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may contain12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and six consecutivesymbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bitscarried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

Some of the REs may carry reference (pilot) signals (RS). The referencesignals may include positioning reference signals (PRS), trackingreference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS),cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state informationreference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS),primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals(SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), sounding reference signals(SRS), etc., depending on whether the illustrated frame structure isused for uplink or downlink communication. FIG. 4A illustrates examplelocations of REs carrying a reference signal (labeled “R”).

FIG. 4B is a diagram 410 illustrating various downlink channels withinan example downlink slot. In FIG. 4B, time is represented horizontally(on the X axis) with time increasing from left to right, while frequencyis represented vertically (on the Y axis) with frequency increasing (ordecreasing) from bottom to top. In the example of FIG. 4B, a numerologyof 15 kHz is used. Thus, in the time domain, the illustrated slot is onemillisecond (ms) in length, divided into 14 symbols.

In NR, the channel bandwidth, or system bandwidth, is divided intomultiple bandwidth parts (BWPs). A BWP is a contiguous set of RBsselected from a contiguous subset of the common RBs for a givennumerology on a given carrier. Generally, a maximum of four BWPs can bespecified in the downlink and uplink. That is, a UE can be configuredwith up to four BWPs on the downlink, and up to four BWPs on the uplink.Only one BWP (uplink or downlink) may be active at a given time, meaningthe UE may only receive or transmit over one BWP at a time. On thedownlink, the bandwidth of each BWP should be equal to or greater thanthe bandwidth of the SSB, but it may or may not contain the SSB.

Referring to FIG. 4B, a primary synchronization signal (PSS) is used bya UE to determine subframe/symbol timing and a physical layer identity.A secondary synchronization signal (SSS) is used by a UE to determine aphysical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Basedon the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identitygroup number, the UE can determine a PCI. Based on the PCI, the UE candetermine the locations of the aforementioned DL-RS. The physicalbroadcast channel (PBCH), which carries a master information block(MIB), may be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form an SSB(also referred to as an SS/PBCH). The MIB provides a number of RBs inthe downlink system bandwidth and a system frame number (SFN). Thephysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcastsystem information not transmitted through the PBCH, such as systeminformation blocks (SIBs), and paging messages.

The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries downlink controlinformation (DCI) within one or more control channel elements (CCEs),each CCE including one or more RE group (REG) bundles (which may spanmultiple symbols in the time domain), each REG bundle including one ormore REGs, each REG corresponding to 12 resource elements (one resourceblock) in the frequency domain and one OFDM symbol in the time domain.The set of physical resources used to carry the PDCCH/DCI is referred toin NR as the control resource set (CORESET). In NR, a PDCCH is confinedto a single CORESET and is transmitted with its own DMRS. This enablesUE-specific beamforming for the PDCCH.

In the example of FIG. 4B, there is one CORESET per BWP, and the CORESETspans three symbols (although it may be only one or two symbols) in thetime domain. Unlike LTE control channels, which occupy the entire systembandwidth, in NR, PDCCH channels are localized to a specific region inthe frequency domain (i.e., a CORESET). Thus, the frequency component ofthe PDCCH shown in FIG. 4B is illustrated as less than a single BWP inthe frequency domain. Note that although the illustrated CORESET iscontiguous in the frequency domain, it need not be. In addition, theCORESET may span less than three symbols in the time domain.

The DCI within the PDCCH carries information about uplink resourceallocation (persistent and non-persistent) and descriptions aboutdownlink data transmitted to the UE, referred to as uplink and downlinkgrants, respectively. More specifically, the DCI indicates the resourcesscheduled for the downlink data channel (e.g., PDSCH) and the uplinkdata channel (e.g., physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)). Multiple(e.g., up to eight) DCIs can be configured in the PDCCH, and these DCIscan have one of multiple formats. For example, there are different DCIformats for uplink scheduling, for downlink scheduling, for uplinktransmit power control (TPC), etc. A PDCCH may be transported by 1, 2,4, 8, or 16 CCEs in order to accommodate different DCI payload sizes orcoding rates.

For positioning in cellular systems, a gNB or other base station 102typically transmits a reference signal and the UE 104 is configured tomeasure and report certain pre-defined metrics such asreference-signal-received-power (RSRP), time-of-arrival (TOA),round-trip-time (RTT), reference signal time difference (RSTD). In somecases, however, the UE may not be able to obtain an accurate measurementof the metric For example, if the line-of-sight (LOS) channel path isattenuated due to blockage, the UE may derive the TOA based on anon-line-of-sight (NLOS) path leading to an over-estimate. An example ofthis is shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 illustrates a scenario in which a base station 102 istransmitting a reference signal to a UE 104 in an environment where onebuilding or other obstacle 500 prevents the UE 104 from receiving astrong LOS signal 502 or blocks the LOS signal 502 entirely, but the UEreceives a NLOS signal 504, e.g., reflected from another building orobstacle 506. FIG. 5 also includes a graph 508 of the channel responsedetected by UE 104 over time. In FIG. 5, the distance from the basestation 102 to the UE 104 is labeled D0, and the time of arrival of theLOS signal 502 is labeled T0. The distance traveled by the NLOS signal504 is D1+D2, and the time of arrival of the NLOS signal 504 is labeledT1+T2. FIG. 5 also shows a graph 510 of channel response over time. Thisgraph 510 shows that the UE 104 receives a weak channel response at timeT0 from the blocked or partially blocked LOS signal 502, and a strongchannel response at time T1+T2 from the NLOS signal 504. If the UE 104reports T1+T2 as the TOA of the received reference signal, the basestation 102 will overestimate the distance to the UE 104.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a triangulation error caused by thescenario described in FIG. 5. FIG. 6 shows a graph 600 of the channelresponse of the signal from transmitter 602 as reported by a UE, showingthat the TOA is overestimated due to reception of NLOS signals with astronger channel response than the LOS signal. Because the TOA isoverestimated, the triangulation of multiple TOA values reported by theUE, including the overestimated TOA due to NLOS, results in an apparentlocation that is different from the true location of the UE. Thus, evenusing additional TOAs from other transmitters may not correct theinaccuracy caused by one overestimated TOA.

To address this problem, additional information may be used to make moreaccurate determination of TOA. For example, the UE may have additionalinformation regarding the accuracy of its measurement. In some aspects,the UE may use the estimated channel response to derive a probabilitydistribution of the measured quantity. For example, the UE may use theestimated channel response to estimate the timing of the first-arrivingchannel path, i.e., the time-of-arrival (TOA). In this case, the UE mayalso be able to derive other estimates of the TOA along with aprobability value indicating a confidence on that estimate.

FIG. 7 illustrates a scenario 700 in which both a channel response 702and a probability of distribution of TOA 704 is used to produce a moreaccurate estimate of the location of a UE according to some aspects. InFIG. 7, each of the earlier-arriving and the later-arriving signals areassigned a probability, and these probabilities are considered whencalculating a likelihood that the UE will be in a particular location.The combination or “fusion” of all likelihoods results in estimating anaccurate location of the UE, as shown in closeup 706. In some aspects,for example, for each point on an X-Y coordinate, each probabilitydistribution assigns a numerical value indicating the probability that aUE is located at that X-Y coordinate, and the numerical values soproduced by each probability distribution may be added, multiplied, orotherwise mathematically combined to produce a combined probability foreach point in the X-Y coordinate system.

FIG. 8 illustrates one method to derive a probability distributionaccording to some aspects. In FIG. 8, a channel response 800 (e.g., achannel power delay profile (PDP), which is a collection of multipathdelays, each having an associated power, which together comprise a PDP)is input into neural network 802 that has been trained to processchannel PDPs and output the probability distribution of TOA 804. In someaspects, other information, such as SNR, angle, etc., could also be usedas inputs into the neural network 802. Other machine learning techniquesmay be employed in addition to or instead of the neural network 802.

FIG. 9 illustrates a method 900 to derive a probability distributionaccording to some aspects. In FIG. 9, one or more likelihood estimations902 are performed, each likelihood estimation 902 taking as inputinformation about a PRS source, such the measured SINR and a truncatedPDP, as well as a measured TOA.

In FIG. 9, the SINR and truncated PDP are inputs into a neural network904, which produces a TOA error distribution. This may be referred to asan inference process. In some aspects, this process includes defining agrid of possible UE locations, and using the neural network 904 toidentify the TOA error distribution corresponding to the observed PRSSINR and PDP.

In some aspects, a UE reports a PDP to a network entity, and the networkentity derives the TOA error distribution. In some aspects, additionalpath reports are enhanced to include information such as magnitude ofpaths.

In some aspects, a UE reports mean RSTD, standard deviation, andprobability associated with each path, e.g., in an additional pathreport. For example, the additional path report includes a “TimingQuality” field; in some aspects, this field is remapped or reused tohold a standard deviation or confidence level information. In someaspects, the additional path report includes a new field correspondingto the probability.

In some aspects, a new report is added that allows the UE to report theprobability distribution of the metric (e.g., RSTD). This metric could,for example, be in the form of a probability mass function overpre-defined ranges, could contain the parameters of a Gaussian mixturedistribution, or other form. In some aspects, a list of predefined RSTDpercentile values (e.g., 5%, 10%, 15%, . . . , 95%) could be used.

In FIG. 9, the TOA error distribution and the measured TOA are inputsinto a likelihood computation 906, which calculates a likelihood of thepresence of the UE at each of a number of possible locations. In someaspects, the likelihood computation 906 may include, for each sample,applying the calculated TOA error distribution to convert the observedTOA to a likelihood over the grid (e.g., calculating a likelihood foreach position on the grid.

In FIG. 9, the likelihoods calculated by each of the likelihoodestimations 902 are inputs into a feature fusion 910, which calculatesan overall likelihood of the presence of the UE at each of the possiblelocations. In some aspects, the overall likelihood is calculated as amathematical function that calculates a likelihood for a particularpoint on the grid as a function of all of the different likelihoodestimations 902 for that particular point on the grid.

FIG. 10 is a plot showing an example likelihood estimation 902 accordingto some aspects. In some aspects, this may include the followingalgorithm, where X_(k), Y_(k), and Z_(k) are the coordinates of thesignal source

For each (x,y) point on a 2D grid:

$\begin{matrix}{{L_{k}\left( {x,y} \right)} =} & {P\left( {{k^{th}\mspace{14mu}{TOA}\mspace{14mu}{measurement}} = {t_{k}❘{{UE}\mspace{14mu}{is}\mspace{14mu}{at}}}} \right.} \\ & \left. \left( {x,y,z_{nom}} \right) \right) \\{=} & {P\left( {{{TOA}\mspace{14mu}{error}} = {t - {d\left( {\left( {x_{k},y_{k},z_{k}} \right),} \right.}}} \right.} \\ & \left. {{\left. \left( {x,y,z_{nom}} \right) \right)\text{/}c}❘{{UE}\mspace{14mu}{is}\mspace{14mu}{at}\mspace{14mu}\left( {x,y,z_{nom}} \right)}} \right) \\{=} & {P\left( {{{TOA}\mspace{14mu}{error}} = {t - {{d\left( {\left( {x_{k},y_{k},z_{k}} \right),\left( {x,y,z_{nom}} \right)} \right)}\text{/}c}}} \right)}\end{matrix}$

FIG. 11 is a plot showing the result of an example feature fusion 910according to some aspects. In FIG. 11, the fusion operation includessummation of log-likelihood, which produces the heat map shown in FIG.11, where brighter pixels indicate higher likelihood and darker pixelsindicate lower likelihood. Thus, the brightest portion of FIG. 11indicates where the UE is most likely to be located. In the exampleshown in FIG. 11, this coordinate is labeled as (X*, Y*). In someaspects, this determination of maximum likelihood may be iterative, asshown in FIG. 12.

FIG. 12 illustrates a process for determination of maximum likelihoodaccording to some aspects, showing a hierarchical grid approach whichstarts with a coarse grid 1200, then repeats the process with a finergrid 1202, and again with an even finer grid 1204, until a coordinatewith a maximum likelihood is found.

The improved methods of determining the position of a UE described aboveneed more samples than conventional methods need, e.g., to have enoughdata to generate a probability. In order to collect more samples, theimproved methods need additional time compared to conventional methods.Specifically, a longer measurement period is needed.

A measurement period is the amount of time the UE needs to derivemeasurements that meet some predefined accuracy requirements. Themeasurement period required by a UE can depend on a number of factors,including capability of the UE, which may be expressed as a combinationof (N,T) values per frequency band, where N is a duration of DL PRSsymbols in milliseconds (ms) processed every T ms for a given maximumbandwidth (BW) in MHz supported by the UE. Example values for N={0.125,0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50} ms. Examplevalues for T={8, 16, 20, 30, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280} ms. Examplevalues for maximum BW reported by UE={5, 10, 20, 40, 50, 80, 100, 200,400} MHz. UE capability can include the number of DL PRS resources thatUE can process in a slot, which is reported per SCS per band (N′), withexample values={1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 32, 64}.

FIG. 13 shows a conventional calculation of a RSTD measurement periodfor the i^(th) positioning frequency layer, which can be expressedaccording to the following equation:

$T_{{UERxTx},i} = {N_{RxBeam} \cdot {CSSF} \cdot \left\{ {{N_{sample} \cdot {\max\left( {\left\lceil \frac{L_{{PRS},i}}{N} \right\rceil,\left\lceil \frac{N_{{PRS},i}^{slot}}{N^{\prime}} \right\rceil} \right)} \cdot \left\lceil \frac{T}{{MGRP}_{e}} \right\rceil \cdot {MGRP}_{e}} + T} \right\}}$

where:

-   -   L_(PRS) represents the span of a PRS occasion comprised of all        PRS resources in the assistance data defined as the time from        the first slot of the earliest PRS resource to the last slot of        latest PRS resource in one T_(PRS) window. Depending on UE        capability for Type I or Type II duration calculation, L_(PRS)        may account for only PRS symbols of slots (Type I) or the entire        slot if any of its symbols are PRS (Type II).    -   N_(PRS) ^(slot) is the number of PRS resources in a slot as        configured by the assistance data.    -   T_(PRS) represents the PRS periodicity among all DL PRS        resources of a resource set and T_(PRS,max) represents the        maximum PRS periodicity among all DL PRS resources of a        positioning frequency layer.    -   MGRP is the measurement gap period as configured by RRC.    -   CSSF is the carrier-specific scaling factor for measurement with        gap sharing with other RRM measurements.    -   N_(Rx,beam) is the UE Rx beam sweeping factor for FR.    -   N_(sample) is the basic number of PRS occasions needed to meet        the accuracy requirements.

Another conventional calculation of a measurement period is as follows.When the physical layer receives the last NR-TDOA-ProvideAssistanceDatamessage and NR-TDOA-RequestLocationInformation message from LMF via LPP,the UE shall be able to measure multiple (up to the UE capability) DLRSTD measurements, defined in 3GPP TS 38.215, during T_(RSTD,Total)defined further in this section. When measurement gaps and processingtime T have overlap between different positioning frequency layers,T_(RSTD,Total) is defined as:

$T_{{RSTD},{Total}} = {{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{L}\; T_{{RSTD},i}} + {\left( {L - 1} \right)*{\max\left( T_{{effect},i} \right)}}}$

where:

-   -   i is the index of positioning frequency layer.    -   L is total number of positioning frequency layers.    -   T_(effect,i) is the periodicity of PRS-RSTD measurement in        positioning frequency layer i as defined further in this        section.

What the RSTD measurement period should be when measurement gaps andprocessing time T do not have overlap between different positioningfrequency layers has not yet been defined. T_(PRS-RSTD,i) is themeasurement period for PRS RSTD measurement in i positioning frequencylayer, as specified below:

${T_{{{PRS} - {RSTD}},i} = {{\left( {{{CSSF}_{{PRS},i}*N_{{RxBeam},i}*\left\lceil \frac{N_{{PRS},i}^{slot}}{N^{\prime}} \right\rceil\left\lceil \frac{L_{{PRS},i}}{N} \right\rceil*N_{sample}} - 1} \right)*T_{{effect},i}} - T_{last}}},$

where:

-   -   N_(RxBeam,i) is the UE Rx beam sweeping factor. In FR1,        N_(RxBeam,i)=1; and in FR2 N_(RxBeam,i)=8.    -   CSSF_(PRS,i) is the carrier-specific scaling factor for the        positioning frequency layer i as defined in clause 9.1.5.2 as        CSSF_(within_gap,i).    -   N_(sample) is the number of PRS RSTD samples and N_(sample)=4.    -   T_(last) is the measurement duration for the last PRS RSTD        sample, including the sampling time and processing time,        T_(last)=T_(i)+L_(PRS,i).

$T_{{effect},i} = {\left\lceil \frac{T_{i}}{T_{{{available}\_{PRS}},i}} \right\rceil*{T_{{{available}\_{PRS}},i}.}}$

-   -   T_(available_PRS,i)=LCM(T_(PRS,i),MGRP_(i)), the least common        multiple between T_(PRS,i) and MGRP_(i).    -   L_(PRS,i) is the time duration as defined in clause 5.1.6.5 of        3GPP TS 38.214.    -   N_(PRS,i) ^(slot) is the maximum number of DL PRS resources in        positioning frequency layer i configured in a slot.    -   {N, T} is UE capability combination per band where N is a        duration of DL PRS symbols in ms processed every T ms for a        given maximum bandwidth supported by UE as specified in clause        4.2.7.2 of 3GPP TS 38.306.    -   N′ is UE capability for number of DL PRS resources that it can        process in a slot as specified in clause 4.2.7.2 of 3GPP TS        38.306.        If positioning frequency layer i has more than one DL PRS        resource set with different PRS periodicities, the maximum PRS        periodicity among DL PRS resource sets is used to derive the        measurement period of that positioning frequency layer.

To overcome the technical problem that the conventional calculation of ameasurement period may not provide sufficient time for the UE to performthe improved methods for determining a position of a UE described above,a number of approaches are herein presented. In one aspect, a UE derivesan enhanced report that may contain mean RSTD, standard deviation andprobability associated with each path in an additional path report, aprobability distribution of the metric (e.g., TOA, RSTD, Rx-Tx, etc.),or some combination of the above.

To calculate these types of data, an increased measurement period isneeded compared to legacy reports, which contain only a single instanceof the metric. The measurement period may depend on the confidenceneeded to be achieved. The increased measurement period may be specifiedin a number of ways.

FIG. 14 illustrates some of the ways by which the measurement period maybe increased to accommodate providing an enhanced report.

FIG. 14, (i) shows an aspect, in which an increased measurement periodmay be specified by changing (e.g., increasing) the value of N_(sample)to a different value that may depend on the band, band combination, orFR if the UE is expected to do such an enhanced report. For example, ifthe legacy has N_(sample)=4, then for the enhanced report, theN_(sample)=8.

FIG. 14, (ii) shows another aspect, in which an increased measurementperiod may be specified by changing (e.g., reducing) the number of PRSsymbols the UE can process (N) if the UE is expected to do such anenhanced report. For example, a constant factor offset may be assumed(e.g., 0.8).

FIG. 14, (iii) shows another aspect, in which an increased measurementperiod may be specified by changing (e.g., reducing) the number of PRSresources the UE can process per slot (N′) if the UE is expected to dosuch an enhanced report. For example, a constant factor offset may beassumed (e.g., 0.8).

FIG. 14, (iv) shows another aspect, in which an increased measurementperiod may be specified by changing (e.g., increasing) the time-domainwindow (T) during which the UE processes the N PRS symbols if the UE isexpected to do such an enhanced report. For example, the adjustment maybe with a factor.

FIG. 14, (v) shows another aspect, in which an increased measurementperiod may be specified using an additional constant factorN_(enhancedReport), that scales the measurement period to account forthe increased processing that is required:

$N_{RxBeam} \cdot {CSSF} \cdot \left\{ {{N_{{enhanced}\mspace{14mu}{Report}} \cdot N_{sample} \cdot {\max\left( {\left\lceil \frac{L_{{PRS},i}}{N} \right\rceil,\left\lceil \frac{N_{{PRS},i}^{slot}}{N^{\prime}} \right\rceil} \right)} \cdot \left\lceil \frac{T}{{MGRP}_{e}} \right\rceil \cdot {MGRP}_{e}} + T} \right\}$

FIG. 14, (vi) shows another aspect, in which an increased measurementperiod may be specified by an additional constant factorT_(enhancedReport) that is added as a summation to the measurementperiod to account for the increased processing that is required if theUE is expected to do such an enhanced report:

$N_{RxBeam} \cdot {CSSF} \cdot \left\{ {{N_{sample} \cdot {\max\left( {\left\lceil \frac{L_{{PRS},i}}{N} \right\rceil,\left\lceil \frac{N_{{PRS},i}^{slot}}{N^{\prime}} \right\rceil} \right)} \cdot \left\lceil \frac{T}{{MGRP}_{e}} \right\rceil \cdot {MGRP}_{e}} + T_{{enhanced}\mspace{14mu}{Report}} + T} \right\}$

These adjustments may be made individually or in any combination. Ifmultiple enhanced reporting options are specified, a differentmeasurement period may be specified for different types of reports.Moreover, a different level of increase in the measurement period may bespecified depending on the confidence level needed for the probabilitydistribution of the metric.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of an example process 1500 associated withdynamic configuration of measurement gaps. In some implementations, oneor more process blocks of FIG. 15 may be performed by a user equipment(UE) (e.g., UE 104). In some implementations, one or more process blocksof FIG. 15 may be performed by another device or a group of devicesseparate from or including the UE. Additionally, or alternatively, oneor more process blocks of FIG. 15 may be performed by one or morecomponents of UE 302, such as processor(s) 332, memory 340, WWANtransceiver(s) 310, short-range wireless transceiver(s) 320, satellitesignal receiver 330, sensor(s) 344, user interface 346, and positioningcomponent(s) 342, any or all of which may be means for performing theoperations of process 1500.

As shown in FIG. 15, process 1500 may include receiving, from a networkentity, a request to provide an enhanced positioning measurement reportcomprising a positioning measurement and further comprising a report ofcomponents of a channel power delay profile (PDP), a report of aprobability distribution of times of arrival (ToA), or both (block1510). Means for performing the operation of block 1510 may include theWWAN transceiver(s) 310 of the UE 302. For example, the UE 302 mayreceive the request to provide an enhanced positioning measurementreport using the receiver(s) 312.

As further shown in FIG. 15, process 1500 may include determining anenhanced measurement period required by the UE to perform the enhancedpositioning measurement, wherein the enhanced measurement period islonger than a standard measurement period required by the UE to performa non-enhanced positioning measurement (block 1520). Means forperforming the operation of block 1520 may include the processor(s) 332and the memory 340 of the UE 302. For example, the UE 302 may determinean enhanced measurement period using the processor(s) 332 and memory(340).

In some aspects, determining the enhanced measurement period comprisesdetermining the enhanced measurement period by multiplying the standardmeasurement period by a constant factor, adding a constant time to thestandard measurement period, or a combination thereof.

In some aspects, the standard measurement period is calculated as afunction of a number of samples to be measured by the UE and whereindetermining the enhanced measurement period comprises increasing thenumber of samples to be measured by the UE compared to the standardmeasurement period.

In some aspects, the standard measurement period is calculated as afunction of a number of positioning reference signal resources that theUE can process per slot and wherein determining the enhanced measurementperiod comprises reducing the number of positioning reference signalresources that the UE can process per slot compared to the standardmeasurement period.

In some aspects, the standard measurement period is calculated as afunction of a number of PRS symbols N that the UE can process per unittime T and wherein determining the enhanced measurement period comprisesreducing a number of PRS symbols N that the UE can process per unit timeT, increasing the value of unit time T required for the UE to process NPRS symbols, or both, compared to the standard measurement period.

As further shown in FIG. 15, process 1500 may include performing anenhanced positioning measurement using the enhanced measurement period(block 1530). Means for performing the operation of block 1530 mayinclude the processor(s) 332, memory 340, or WWAN transceiver(s) 310 ofthe UE 302. For example, the UE may perform an enhanced positioningmeasurement using the enhanced measurement period, using thetransmitter(s) 314 and receiver(s) 312 to transmit and receivepositioning signals and using the processor(s) 332 and memory 340 tocalculate values needed for the enhanced positioning measurement report,such as a mean, standard deviation, probability, and/or probabilitydistribution associated with a metric, etc.

In some aspects, process 1500 includes performing an enhancedpositioning measurement using the enhanced measurement period furthercomprises calculating a mean, standard deviation, probability, and/orprobability distribution associated with a metric, wherein the metriccomprises a ToA, a reference signal time delay (RSTD), or a channel PDP,and providing the enhanced positioning measurement report comprisesreporting results of the measurement of the metric and a mean, astandard deviation, a probability, a probability distribution, or acombination thereof, associated with the metric.

In some aspects, performing an enhanced positioning measurement usingthe enhanced measurement period comprises performing a plurality ofmeasurements of the metric, determining a probability distribution ofeach of the plurality of measurements, and determining a likelihood ofthe metric based on a combination of the probability distributions.

As further shown in FIG. 15, process 1500 may include providing theenhanced positioning measurement report to the network entity (block1540). Means for performing the operation of block 1540 may include theprocessor(s) 332, memory 340, or WWAN transceiver(s) 310 of the UE 302.For example, the UE may provide the enhanced positioning measurementreport to the network entity, using [identify component here].

Process 1500 may include additional implementations, such as any singleimplementation or any combination of implementations described belowand/or in connection with one or more other processes describedelsewhere herein. Although FIG. 15 shows example blocks of process 1500,in some implementations, process 1500 may include additional blocks,fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks thanthose depicted in FIG. 15. Additionally, or alternatively, two or moreof the blocks of process 1500 may be performed in parallel.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of an example process 1600 associated withdynamic configuration of measurement gaps. In some implementations, oneor more process blocks of FIG. 16 may be performed by a network entity(e.g., network entity REFNUMBER). In some implementations, one or moreprocess blocks of FIG. 16 may be performed by another device or a groupof devices separate from or including the network entity. Additionally,or alternatively, one or more process blocks of FIG. 16 may be performedby one or more components of network entity 306, such as processor(s)394, memory 396, network transceiver(s) 390, and positioningcomponent(s) 398, any or all of which may be means for performing theoperations of process 1600.

As shown in FIG. 16, process 1600 may include sending, to a userequipment (UE), a request to provide an enhanced positioning measurementreport comprising a positioning measurement and further comprising areport of components of a channel power delay profile (PDP), a report ofa probability distribution of times of arrival (ToA), or both (block1610). Means for performing the operation of block 1610 may include theprocessor(s) 394, memory 396, or network transceiver(s) 390 of thenetwork entity 306. For example, the network entity 306 may send therequest to the UE using the network transceiver(s) 390.

As further shown in FIG. 16, process 1600 may include determining anenhanced measurement period required by the UE to perform the enhancedpositioning measurement, wherein the enhanced measurement period islonger than a standard measurement period required by the UE to performa non-enhanced positioning measurement (block 1620). Means forperforming the operation of block 1620 may include the processor(s) 394,memory 396, or network transceiver(s) 390 of the network entity 306. Forexample, the network entity 306 may determine the enhanced measurementperiod using the processor(s) 394 and data stored in the memory 396.

In some aspects, determining the enhanced measurement period comprisesdetermining the enhanced measurement period by multiplying the standardmeasurement period by a constant factor, adding a constant time to thestandard measurement period, or a combination thereof.

As further shown in FIG. 16, process 1600 may include receiving, fromthe UE, an enhanced positioning measurement report (block 1630). Meansfor performing the operation of block 1630 may include the processor(s)394, memory 396, or network transceiver(s) 390 of the network entity306. For example, the network entity may receive the enhancedpositioning measurement report from the UE via the networktransceiver(s) 390.

In some aspects, receiving the enhanced positioning measurement reportcomprises receiving results of the measurement of a metric and a mean,standard deviation, probability, and/or probability distributionassociated with the metric.

In some aspects, receiving the enhanced positioning measurement reportcomprises receiving results of the measurement of a metric and a channelPDP associated with the measurement, wherein the metric comprises a ToA,a reference signal time delay (RSTD), or a PDP, and calculating a mean,standard deviation, probability, and/or probability distributionassociated with the metric.

In some aspects, process 1600 optionally includes determining aprobability distribution of the metric. In some aspects, determining theprobability distribution of the metric comprises determining theprobability distribution of the metric based on the channel PDP.

Process 1600 may include additional implementations, such as any singleimplementation or any combination of implementations described belowand/or in connection with one or more other processes describedelsewhere herein. Although FIG. 16 shows example blocks of process 1600,in some implementations, process 1600 may include additional blocks,fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks thanthose depicted in FIG. 16. Additionally, or alternatively, two or moreof the blocks of process 1600 may be performed in parallel.

As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of the subject matterdisclosed herein is that it overcomes the technical problem that theconventional calculation of a measurement period may not providesufficient time for the UE to perform the enhanced positioningmeasurements by providing an increased measurement period compared tothe measurement period needed to perform standard, non-enhancedpositioning measurements.

In the detailed description above it can be seen that different featuresare grouped together in examples. This manner of disclosure should notbe understood as an intention that the example clauses have morefeatures than are explicitly mentioned in each clause. Rather, thevarious aspects of the disclosure may include fewer than all features ofan individual example clause disclosed. Therefore, the following clausesshould hereby be deemed to be incorporated in the description, whereineach clause by itself can stand as a separate example. Although eachdependent clause can refer in the clauses to a specific combination withone of the other clauses, the aspect(s) of that dependent clause are notlimited to the specific combination. It will be appreciated that otherexample clauses can also include a combination of the dependent clauseaspect(s) with the subject matter of any other dependent clause orindependent clause or a combination of any feature with other dependentand independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein expresslyinclude these combinations, unless it is explicitly expressed or can bereadily inferred that a specific combination is not intended (e.g.,contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an insulatorand a conductor). Furthermore, it is also intended that aspects of aclause can be included in any other independent clause, even if theclause is not directly dependent on the independent clause.

Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

Clause 1. A method, performed by a user equipment (UE), for performingan enhanced positioning measurement, the method comprising: receiving,from a network entity, a request to provide an enhanced positioningmeasurement report comprising a positioning measurement and furthercomprising a report of components of a channel power delay profile(PDP), a report of a probability distribution of times of arrival (ToA),or both; determining an enhanced measurement period required by the UEto perform the enhanced positioning measurement, wherein the enhancedmeasurement period is longer than a standard measurement period requiredby the UE to perform a non-enhanced positioning measurement; performingthe enhanced positioning measurement using the enhanced measurementperiod; and providing the enhanced positioning measurement report to thenetwork entity.

Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein determining the enhancedmeasurement period comprises determining the enhanced measurement periodby multiplying the standard measurement period by a constant factor,adding a constant time to the standard measurement period, or acombination thereof.

Clause 3. The method of any of clauses 1 to 2, wherein the standardmeasurement period is calculated as a function of a number of samples tobe measured by the UE and wherein determining the enhanced measurementperiod comprises increasing the number of samples to be measured by theUE compared to the standard measurement period.

Clause 4. The method of any of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the standardmeasurement period is calculated as a function of a number ofpositioning reference signal resources that the UE can process per slotand wherein determining the enhanced measurement period comprisesreducing the number of positioning reference signal resources that theUE can process per slot compared to the standard measurement period.

Clause 5. The method of any of clauses 1 to 4, wherein the standardmeasurement period is calculated as a function of a number of PRSsymbols N that the UE can process per unit time and wherein determiningthe enhanced measurement period comprises reducing a number of PRSsymbols N that the UE can process per unit time, increasing the unittime required for the UE to process N PRS symbols, or both, compared tothe standard measurement period.

Clause 6. The method of any of clauses 1 to 5, wherein: performing theenhanced positioning measurement using the enhanced measurement periodfurther comprises calculating a mean, a standard deviation, aprobability, a probability distribution, or a combination thereof,associated with a metric, wherein the metric comprises a ToA, areference signal time delay (RSTD), or a channel PDP; and providing theenhanced positioning measurement report comprises reporting results ofthe measurement of the metric and the mean, the standard deviation, theprobability, the probability distribution, or the combination thereof,associated with the metric.

Clause 7. The method of clause 6, wherein performing the enhancedpositioning measurement using the enhanced measurement period comprises:performing a plurality of measurements of the metric; determining theprobability distribution of each of the plurality of measurements; anddetermining a likelihood of the metric based on a combination of theprobability distributions.

Clause 8. A method, performed by a network entity, for performing anenhanced positioning measurement, the method comprising: sending, to auser equipment (UE), a request to provide an enhanced positioningmeasurement report comprising a positioning measurement and furthercomprising a report of components of a channel power delay profile(PDP), a report of a probability distribution of times of arrival (ToA),or both; determining an enhanced measurement period required by the UEto perform the enhanced positioning measurement, wherein the enhancedmeasurement period is longer than a standard measurement period requiredby the UE to perform a non-enhanced positioning measurement; andreceiving, from the UE, the enhanced positioning measurement report.

Clause 9. The method of clause 8, wherein determining the enhancedmeasurement period comprises determining the enhanced measurement periodby multiplying the standard measurement period by a constant factor,adding a constant time to the standard measurement period, or acombination thereof.

Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 8 to 9, wherein receiving theenhanced positioning measurement report comprises receiving results ofthe measurement of a metric and a mean, a standard deviation, aprobability, a probability distribution, or a combination thereof,associated with the metric.

Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 8 to 10, wherein receiving theenhanced positioning measurement report comprises receiving results ofthe measurement of a metric and a channel PDP associated with themeasurement, wherein the metric comprises a ToA, a reference signal timedelay (RSTD), or a channel PDP, and calculating a mean, a standarddeviation, a probability, a probability distribution, or a combinationthereof, associated with the metric.

Clause 12. The method of clause 11, comprising determining theprobability distribution of the metric.

Clause 13. The method of clause 12, wherein determining the probabilitydistribution of the metric comprises determining the probabilitydistribution of the metric based on the channel PDP.

Clause 14. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; at least onetransceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to thememory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processorconfigured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, from a networkentity, a request to provide an enhanced positioning measurement reportcomprising a positioning measurement and further comprising a report ofcomponents of a channel power delay profile (PDP), a report of aprobability distribution of times of arrival (ToA), or both; determinean enhanced measurement period required by the UE to perform theenhanced positioning measurement, wherein the enhanced measurementperiod is longer than a standard measurement period required by the UEto perform a non-enhanced positioning measurement; perform the enhancedpositioning measurement using the enhanced measurement period; andprovide the enhanced positioning measurement report to the networkentity.

Clause 15. The UE of clause 14, wherein, to determine the enhancedmeasurement period, the at least one processor is configured todetermine the enhanced measurement period by multiplying the standardmeasurement period by a constant factor, adding a constant time to thestandard measurement period, or a combination thereof.

Clause 16. The UE of any of clauses 14 to 15, wherein the standardmeasurement period is calculated as a function of a number of samples tobe measured by the UE and wherein determining the enhanced measurementperiod comprises increasing the number of samples to be measured by theUE compared to the standard measurement period.

Clause 17. The UE of any of clauses 14 to 16, wherein the standardmeasurement period is calculated as a function of a number ofpositioning reference signal resources that the UE can process per slotand wherein determining the enhanced measurement period comprisesreducing the number of positioning reference signal resources that theUE can process per slot compared to the standard measurement period.

Clause 18. The UE of any of clauses 14 to 17, wherein the standardmeasurement period is calculated as a function of a number of PRSsymbols N that the UE can process per unit time and wherein determiningthe enhanced measurement period comprises reducing a number of PRSsymbols N that the UE can process per unit time, increasing the unittime required for the UE to process N PRS symbols, or both, compared tothe standard measurement period.

Clause 19. The UE of any of clauses 14 to 18, wherein: perform theenhanced positioning measurement using the enhanced measurement periodfurther comprises calculating a mean, a standard deviation, aprobability, a probability distribution, or a combination thereof,associated with a metric, wherein the metric comprises a ToA, areference signal time delay (RSTD), or a channel PDP; and provide theenhanced positioning measurement report comprises reporting results ofthe measurement of the metric and the mean, the standard deviation, theprobability, the probability distribution, or the combination thereof,associated with the metric.

Clause 20. The UE of clause 19, wherein, to perform the enhancedpositioning measurement using the enhanced measurement period, the atleast one processor is configured to: perform a plurality ofmeasurements of the metric; determine the probability distribution ofeach of the plurality of measurements; and determine a likelihood of themetric based on a combination of the probability distributions.

Clause 21. A network entity, comprising: a memory; at least onetransceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to thememory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processorconfigured to: send, via the at least one transceiver, to a userequipment (UE), a request to provide an enhanced positioning measurementreport comprising a positioning measurement and further comprising areport of components of a channel power delay profile (PDP), a report ofa probability distribution of times of arrival (ToA), or both; determinean enhanced measurement period required by the UE to perform theenhanced positioning measurement, wherein the enhanced measurementperiod is longer than a standard measurement period required by the UEto perform a non-enhanced positioning measurement; and receive, via theat least one transceiver, from the UE, the enhanced positioningmeasurement report.

Clause 22. The network entity of clause 21, wherein, to determine theenhanced measurement period, the at least one processor is configured todetermine the enhanced measurement period by multiplying the standardmeasurement period by a constant factor, adding a constant time to thestandard measurement period, or a combination thereof.

Clause 23. The network entity of any of clauses 21 to 22, wherein, toreceive the enhanced positioning measurement report, the at least oneprocessor is configured to receive results of the measurement of ametric and a mean, a standard deviation, a probability, a probabilitydistribution, or a combination thereof, associated with the metric.

Clause 24. The network entity of any of clauses 21 to 23, whereinreceiving the enhanced positioning measurement report comprisesreceiving results of the measurement of a metric and a channel PDPassociated with the measurement, wherein the metric comprises a ToA, areference signal time delay (RSTD), or a channel PDP, and calculating amean, a standard deviation, a probability, a probability distribution,or a combination thereof, associated with the metric.

Clause 25. The network entity of clause 24, comprising determining theprobability distribution of the metric.

Clause 26. The network entity of clause 25, wherein, to determine theprobability distribution of the metric, the at least one processor isconfigured to determine the probability distribution of the metric basedon the channel PDP.

Clause 27. A user equipment (UE), comprising: means for receiving, froma network entity, a request to provide an enhanced positioningmeasurement report comprising a positioning measurement and furthercomprising a report of components of a channel power delay profile(PDP), a report of a probability distribution of times of arrival (ToA),or both; means for determining an enhanced measurement period requiredby the UE to perform the enhanced positioning measurement, wherein theenhanced measurement period is longer than a standard measurement periodrequired by the UE to perform a non-enhanced positioning measurement;means for performing the enhanced positioning measurement using theenhanced measurement period; and means for providing the enhancedpositioning measurement report to the network entity.

Clause 28. The UE of clause 27, wherein the means for determining theenhanced measurement period comprises means for determining the enhancedmeasurement period by multiplying the standard measurement period by aconstant factor, adding a constant time to the standard measurementperiod, or a combination thereof.

Clause 29. The UE of any of clauses 27 to 28, wherein the standardmeasurement period is calculated as a function of a number of samples tobe measured by the UE and wherein determining the enhanced measurementperiod comprises increasing the number of samples to be measured by theUE compared to the standard measurement period.

Clause 30. The UE of any of clauses 27 to 29, wherein the standardmeasurement period is calculated as a function of a number ofpositioning reference signal resources that the UE can process per slotand wherein determining the enhanced measurement period comprisesreducing the number of positioning reference signal resources that theUE can process per slot compared to the standard measurement period.

Clause 31. The UE of any of clauses 27 to 30, wherein the standardmeasurement period is calculated as a function of a number of PRSsymbols N that the UE can process per unit time and wherein determiningthe enhanced measurement period comprises reducing a number of PRSsymbols N that the UE can process per unit time, increasing the unittime required for the UE to process N PRS symbols, or both, compared tothe standard measurement period.

Clause 32. The UE of any of clauses 27 to 31, wherein: means forperforming the enhanced positioning measurement using the enhancedmeasurement period further comprises calculating a mean, a standarddeviation, a probability, a probability distribution, or a combinationthereof, associated with a metric, wherein the metric comprises a ToA, areference signal time delay (RSTD), or a channel PDP; and means forproviding the enhanced positioning measurement report comprisesreporting results of the measurement of the metric and the mean, thestandard deviation, the probability, the probability distribution, orthe combination thereof, associated with the metric.

Clause 33. The UE of clause 32, wherein the means for performing theenhanced positioning measurement using the enhanced measurement periodcomprises: means for performing a plurality of measurements of themetric; means for determining the probability distribution of each ofthe plurality of measurements; and means for determining a likelihood ofthe metric based on a combination of the probability distributions.

Clause 34. A network entity, comprising: means for sending, to a userequipment (UE), a request to provide an enhanced positioning measurementreport comprising a positioning measurement and further comprising areport of components of a channel power delay profile (PDP), a report ofa probability distribution of times of arrival (ToA), or both; means fordetermining an enhanced measurement period required by the UE to performthe enhanced positioning measurement, wherein the enhanced measurementperiod is longer than a standard measurement period required by the UEto perform a non-enhanced positioning measurement; and means forreceiving, from the UE, the enhanced positioning measurement report.

Clause 35. The network entity of clause 34, wherein the means fordetermining the enhanced measurement period comprises means fordetermining the enhanced measurement period by multiplying the standardmeasurement period by a constant factor, adding a constant time to thestandard measurement period, or a combination thereof.

Clause 36. The network entity of any of clauses 34 to 35, wherein themeans for receiving the enhanced positioning measurement reportcomprises means for receiving results of the measurement of a metric anda mean, a standard deviation, a probability, a probability distribution,or a combination thereof, associated with the metric.

Clause 37. The network entity of any of clauses 34 to 36, whereinreceiving the enhanced positioning measurement report comprisesreceiving results of the measurement of a metric and a channel PDPassociated with the measurement, wherein the metric comprises a ToA, areference signal time delay (RSTD), or a channel PDP, and calculating amean, a standard deviation, a probability, a probability distribution,or a combination thereof, associated with the metric.

Clause 38. The network entity of clause 37, comprising determining theprobability distribution of the metric.

Clause 39. The network entity of clause 38, wherein the means fordetermining the probability distribution of the metric comprises meansfor determining the probability distribution of the metric based on thechannel PDP.

Clause 40. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment(UE), cause the UE to: receive, from a network entity, a request toprovide an enhanced positioning measurement report comprising apositioning measurement and further comprising a report of components ofa channel power delay profile (PDP), a report of a probabilitydistribution of times of arrival (ToA), or both; determine an enhancedmeasurement period required by the UE to perform the enhancedpositioning measurement, wherein the enhanced measurement period islonger than a standard measurement period required by the UE to performa non-enhanced positioning measurement; perform the enhanced positioningmeasurement using the enhanced measurement period; and provide theenhanced positioning measurement report to the network entity.

Clause 41. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 40,wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by theUE, cause the UE to determine the enhanced measurement period comprisecomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, causethe UE to determine the enhanced measurement period by multiplying thestandard measurement period by a constant factor, adding a constant timeto the standard measurement period, or a combination thereof.

Clause 42. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses40 to 41, wherein the standard measurement period is calculated as afunction of a number of samples to be measured by the UE and whereindetermining the enhanced measurement period comprises increasing thenumber of samples to be measured by the UE compared to the standardmeasurement period.

Clause 43. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses40 to 42, wherein the standard measurement period is calculated as afunction of a number of positioning reference signal resources that theUE can process per slot and wherein determining the enhanced measurementperiod comprises reducing the number of positioning reference signalresources that the UE can process per slot compared to the standardmeasurement period.

Clause 44. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses40 to 43, wherein the standard measurement period is calculated as afunction of a number of PRS symbols N that the UE can process per unittime and wherein determining the enhanced measurement period comprisesreducing a number of PRS symbols N that the UE can process per unittime, increasing the unit time required for the UE to process N PRSsymbols, or both, compared to the standard measurement period.

Clause 45. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses40 to 44, wherein: perform the enhanced positioning measurement usingthe enhanced measurement period further comprises calculating a mean, astandard deviation, a probability, a probability distribution, or acombination thereof, associated with a metric, wherein the metriccomprises a ToA, a reference signal time delay (RSTD), or a channel PDP;and provide the enhanced positioning measurement report comprisesreporting results of the measurement of the metric and the mean, thestandard deviation, the probability, the probability distribution, orthe combination thereof, associated with the metric.

Clause 46. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 45,wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by theUE, cause the UE to perform the enhanced positioning measurement usingthe enhanced measurement period comprise computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: perform aplurality of measurements of the metric; determine the probabilitydistribution of each of the plurality of measurements; and determine alikelihood of the metric based on a combination of the probabilitydistributions.

Clause 47. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by a networkentity, cause the network entity to: send, to a user equipment (UE), arequest to provide an enhanced positioning measurement report comprisinga positioning measurement and further comprising a report of componentsof a channel power delay profile (PDP), a report of a probabilitydistribution of times of arrival (ToA), or both; determine an enhancedmeasurement period required by the UE to perform the enhancedpositioning measurement, wherein the enhanced measurement period islonger than a standard measurement period required by the UE to performa non-enhanced positioning measurement; and receive, from the UE, theenhanced positioning measurement report.

Clause 48. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 47,wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by thenetwork entity, cause the network entity to determine the enhancedmeasurement period comprise computer-executable instructions that, whenexecuted by the network entity, cause the network entity to determinethe enhanced measurement period by multiplying the standard measurementperiod by a constant factor, adding a constant time to the standardmeasurement period, or a combination thereof.

Clause 49. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses47 to 48, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, whenexecuted by the network entity, cause the network entity to receive theenhanced positioning measurement report comprise computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by the network entity, cause thenetwork entity to receive results of the measurement of a metric and amean, a standard deviation, a probability, a probability distribution,or a combination thereof, associated with the metric.

Clause 50. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses47 to 49, wherein receiving the enhanced positioning measurement reportcomprises receiving results of the measurement of a metric and a channelPDP associated with the measurement, wherein the metric comprises a ToA,a reference signal time delay (RSTD), or a channel PDP, and calculatinga mean, a standard deviation, a probability, a probability distribution,or a combination thereof, associated with the metric.

Clause 51. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 50,comprising determining the probability distribution of the metric.

Clause 52. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 51,wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by thenetwork entity, cause the network entity to determine the probabilitydistribution of the metric comprise computer-executable instructionsthat, when executed by the network entity, cause the network entity todetermine the probability distribution of the metric based on thechannel PDP.

Clause 53. An apparatus comprising a memory, a transceiver, and aprocessor communicatively coupled to the memory and the transceiver, thememory, the transceiver, and the processor configured to perform amethod according to any of clauses 1 to 13.

Clause 54. An apparatus comprising means for performing a methodaccording to any of clauses 1 to 13.

Clause 55. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer-executable instructions, the computer-executable comprising atleast one instruction for causing a computer or processor to perform amethod according to any of clauses 1 to 13.

Additional aspects include the following:

In an aspect, a method includes receiving, from a network entity, arequest to report an enhanced positioning measurement; determining anenhanced measurement period based on the enhanced positioningmeasurement; performing an enhanced positioning measurement using theenhanced measurement period; and reporting the enhanced positioningmeasurement to the network entity according to the determined enhancedmeasurement period.

In some aspects, determining an enhanced measurement period comprisesdetermining an increased measurement period during which the UE canperform the enhanced positioning measurement compared to a standardmeasurement period during which the UE can perform a non-enhancedpositioning measurement.

In some aspects, determining an increased measurement period comprisesmodifying a standard measurement period.

In some aspects, modifying a standard measurement period comprisesmultiplying the standard measurement period by a constant factor, addinga constant time to the standard measurement period, or a combinationthereof.

In some aspects, the standard measurement period is calculated as afunction of a number of samples to be measured by the UE and modifyingthe standard measurement period comprises increasing the number ofsamples to be measured by the UE.

In some aspects, the standard measurement period is calculated as afunction of a number of positioning reference signal resources that theUE can process per slot and modifying the standard measurement periodcomprises reducing the number of positioning reference signal resourcesthat the UE can process per slot.

In some aspects, the standard measurement period is calculated as afunction of a number of PRS symbols N that the UE can process per unittime T and modifying the standard measurement period comprises reducinga number of PRS symbols N that the UE can process per unit time T,increasing the value of unit time T required for the UE to process N PRSsymbols, or both.

In some aspects, determining an enhanced measurement period comprisesdetermining an enhanced measurement period based at least in part on aconfidence level requirement.

In some aspects, performing an enhanced positioning measurement usingthe enhanced measurement period comprises performing a measurement of ametric.

In some aspects, the metric comprises a time of arrival (TOA), areference signal time delay (RSTD), or a channel power delay profile(PDP).

In some aspects, reporting the enhanced positioning measurementcomprises reporting results of the measurement of the metric and achannel power delay profile associated with the measurement.

In some aspects, performing an enhanced positioning measurement usingthe enhanced measurement period further comprises calculating a mean,standard deviation, probability, and/or probability distributionassociated with the metric, and reporting the enhanced positioningmeasurement comprises reporting results of the measurement of the metricand the mean, standard deviation, probability, and/or probabilitydistribution associated with the metric.

In some aspects, the mean, standard deviation, probability, and/orprobability distribution associated with the metric are reported via anadditional path report.

In some aspects, the mean, standard deviation, probability, and/orprobability distribution associated with the metric are reported via anew field in the additional path report.

In some aspects, the mean, standard deviation, probability, and/orprobability distribution associated with the metric are reported viareuse of an existing field in the additional path report.

In some aspects, reuse of an existing field in the additional pathreport comprises reuse of a Timing Quality field in the additional pathreport.

In some aspects, calculating a probability associated with the metriccomprises determining a probability distribution of the metric.

In some aspects, determining a probability distribution of the metriccomprises determining the probability distribution of the metric basedon a channel power delay profile (PDP).

In some aspects, determining the probability distribution of the metricbased on a channel power delay profile (PDP) comprises: inputting thechannel PDP into a neural network to produce an error distribution; andcomputing a likelihood of the metric based on the error distribution.

In some aspects, performing an enhanced positioning measurement usingthe enhanced measurement period further comprises calculating aprobability associated with the metric, and reporting the enhancedpositioning measurement comprises reporting the probability associatedwith the metric in the form of a probability mass function overpredefined bin ranges, at least one parameter of a Gaussian mixturedistribution, a list of percentile values of the metric for pre-definedpercentiles, or some combination thereof.

In some aspects, performing an enhanced positioning measurement usingthe enhanced measurement period comprises: performing a plurality ofmeasurements of a metric; determining a probability distribution of eachof the plurality of measurements; and determining a likelihood of themetric based on a combination of the probability distributions.

In an aspect, a method includes sending, to a user equipment (UE), arequest for an enhanced positioning measurement; determining an enhancedmeasurement period based on the enhanced positioning measurement; andreceiving, from the UE, an enhanced positioning measurement.

In some aspects, determining the enhanced measurement period comprisesdetermining an increased measurement period during which the UE canperform the enhanced positioning measurement compared to a standardmeasurement period during which the UE can perform a non-enhancedpositioning measurement.

In some aspects, determining the increased measurement period comprisesmodifying a standard measurement period.

In some aspects, modifying a standard measurement period comprisesmultiplying the standard measurement period by a constant factor, addinga constant time to the standard measurement period, or a combinationthereof.

In some aspects, the standard measurement period is calculated as afunction of a number of samples to be measured by the UE and modifyingthe standard measurement period comprises increasing the number ofsamples to be measured by the UE.

In some aspects, the standard measurement period is calculated as afunction of a number of positioning reference signal resources that theUE can process per slot and modifying the standard measurement periodcomprises reducing the number of positioning reference signal resourcesthat the UE can process per slot.

In some aspects, the standard measurement period is calculated as afunction of a number of PRS symbols N that the UE can process per unittime T and modifying the standard measurement period comprises reducinga number of PRS symbols N that the UE can process per unit time T,increasing the value of unit time T required for the UE to process N PRSsymbols, or both.

In some aspects, determining the enhanced measurement period comprisesdetermining an enhanced measurement period based at least in part on aconfidence level requirement.

In some aspects, receiving the enhanced positioning measurementcomprises receiving results of the measurement of a metric and a channelpower delay profile associated with the measurement.

In some aspects, the method includes calculating a mean, standarddeviation, probability, and/or probability distribution associated withthe metric.

In some aspects, the method further includes determining a probabilitydistribution of the metric.

In some aspects, determining the probability distribution of the metriccomprises determining the probability distribution of the metric basedon the channel power delay profile (PDP).

In some aspects, determining the probability distribution of the metricbased on a channel power delay profile (PDP) comprises: inputting thechannel PDP into a neural network to produce an error distribution; andcomputing a likelihood of the metric based on the error distribution.

In some aspects, receiving the enhanced positioning measurementcomprises receiving results of the measurement of a metric and a mean,standard deviation, probability, and/or probability distributionassociated with the metric.

In some aspects, the mean, standard deviation, probability, and/orprobability distribution associated with the metric are reported via anadditional path report.

In some aspects, the mean, standard deviation, probability, and/orprobability distribution associated with the metric are reported via anew field in the additional path report.

In some aspects, the mean, standard deviation, probability, and/orprobability distribution associated with the metric are reported viareuse of an existing field in the additional path report.

In some aspects, reuse of an existing field in the additional pathreport comprises reuse of a Timing Quality field in the additional pathreport.

In some aspects, receiving the enhanced positioning measurementcomprises receiving a probability associated with a metric as aprobability mass function over predefined bin ranges, at least oneparameter of a Gaussian mixture distribution, a list of percentilevalues of the metric for pre-defined percentiles, or some combinationthereof.

In some aspects, the network entity comprises a base station.

In an aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes a memory; at least onetransceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to thememory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processorconfigured to: receive, from a network entity, a request to report anenhanced positioning measurement; determine an enhanced measurementperiod based on the enhanced positioning measurement; perform anenhanced positioning measurement using the enhanced measurement period;and cause the at least one transceiver to send the enhanced positioningmeasurement to the network entity according to the determined enhancedmeasurement period.

In some aspects, determining an enhanced measurement period comprisesdetermining an increased measurement period during which the UE canperform the enhanced positioning measurement compared to a standardmeasurement period during which the UE can perform a non-enhancedpositioning measurement.

In some aspects, determining an increased measurement period comprisesmodifying a standard measurement period.

In some aspects, modifying a standard measurement period comprisesmultiplying the standard measurement period by a constant factor, addinga constant time to the standard measurement period, or a combinationthereof.

In some aspects, the standard measurement period is calculated as afunction of a number of samples to be measured by the UE and modifyingthe standard measurement period comprises increasing the number ofsamples to be measured by the UE.

In some aspects, the standard measurement period is calculated as afunction of a number of positioning reference signal resources that theUE can process per slot and modifying the standard measurement periodcomprises reducing the number of positioning reference signal resourcesthat the UE can process per slot.

In some aspects, the standard measurement period is calculated as afunction of a number of PRS symbols N that the UE can process per unittime T and modifying the standard measurement period comprises reducinga number of PRS symbols N that the UE can process per unit time T,increasing the value of unit time T required for the UE to process N PRSsymbols, or both.

In some aspects, determining an enhanced measurement period comprisesdetermining an enhanced measurement period based at least in part on aconfidence level requirement.

In some aspects, performing an enhanced positioning measurement usingthe enhanced measurement period comprises performing a measurement of ametric.

In some aspects, the metric comprises a time of arrival (TOA), areference signal time delay (RSTD), or a channel power delay profile(PDP).

In some aspects, reporting the enhanced positioning measurementcomprises reporting results of the measurement of the metric and achannel power delay profile associated with the measurement.

In some aspects, performing an enhanced positioning measurement usingthe enhanced measurement period further comprises calculating a mean,standard deviation, probability, and/or probability distributionassociated with the metric, and reporting the enhanced positioningmeasurement comprises reporting results of the measurement of the metricand the mean, standard deviation, probability, and/or probabilitydistribution associated with the metric.

In some aspects, the mean, standard deviation, probability, and/orprobability distribution associated with the metric are reported via anadditional path report.

In some aspects, the mean, standard deviation, probability, and/orprobability distribution associated with the metric are reported via anew field in the additional path report.

In some aspects, the mean, standard deviation, probability, and/orprobability distribution associated with the metric are reported viareuse of an existing field in the additional path report.

In some aspects, reuse of an existing field in the additional pathreport comprises reuse of a Timing Quality field in the additional pathreport.

In some aspects, calculating a probability associated with the metriccomprises determining a probability distribution of the metric.

In some aspects, determining a probability distribution of the metriccomprises determining the probability distribution of the metric basedon a channel power delay profile (PDP).

In some aspects, determining the probability distribution of the metricbased on a channel power delay profile (PDP) comprises: inputting thechannel PDP into a neural network to produce an error distribution; andcomputing a likelihood of the metric based on the error distribution.

In some aspects, performing an enhanced positioning measurement usingthe enhanced measurement period further comprises calculating aprobability associated with the metric, and reporting the enhancedpositioning measurement comprises reporting the probability associatedwith the metric as a probability mass function over predefined binranges, at least one parameter of a Gaussian mixture distribution, alist of percentile values of the metric for pre-defined percentiles, orsome combination thereof.

In some aspects, performing an enhanced positioning measurement usingthe enhanced measurement period comprises: performing a plurality ofmeasurements of a metric; determining a probability distribution of eachof the plurality of measurements; and determining a likelihood of themetric based on a combination of the probability distributions.

In an aspect, a network entity includes a memory; at least onetransceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to thememory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processorconfigured to: cause the at least one transceiver to send, to a userequipment (UE), a request for an enhanced positioning measurement;determine an enhanced measurement period based on the enhancedpositioning measurement; and receive, from the UE, an enhancedpositioning measurement.

In some aspects, determining the enhanced measurement period comprisesdetermining an increased measurement period during which the UE canperform the enhanced positioning measurement compared to a standardmeasurement period during which the UE can perform a non-enhancedpositioning measurement.

In some aspects, determining the increased measurement period comprisesmodifying a standard measurement period.

In some aspects, modifying a standard measurement period comprisesmultiplying the standard measurement period by a constant factor, addinga constant time to the standard measurement period, or a combinationthereof.

In some aspects, the standard measurement period is calculated as afunction of a number of samples to be measured by the UE and modifyingthe standard measurement period comprises increasing the number ofsamples to be measured by the UE.

In some aspects, the standard measurement period is calculated as afunction of a number of positioning reference signal resources that theUE can process per slot and modifying the standard measurement periodcomprises reducing the number of positioning reference signal resourcesthat the UE can process per slot.

In some aspects, the standard measurement period is calculated as afunction of a number of PRS symbols N that the UE can process per unittime T and modifying the standard measurement period comprises reducinga number of PRS symbols N that the UE can process per unit time T,increasing the value of unit time T required for the UE to process N PRSsymbols, or both.

In some aspects, determining the enhanced measurement period comprisesdetermining an enhanced measurement period based at least in part on aconfidence level requirement.

In some aspects, receiving the enhanced positioning measurementcomprises receiving results of the measurement of a metric and a channelpower delay profile associated with the measurement.

In some aspects, the at least one processor is further configured tocalculate a mean, standard deviation, probability, and/or probabilitydistribution associated with the metric.

In some aspects, the at least one processor is further configured todetermine a probability distribution of the metric.

In some aspects, determining the probability distribution of the metriccomprises determining the probability distribution of the metric basedon the channel power delay profile (PDP).

In some aspects, determining the probability distribution of the metricbased on a channel power delay profile (PDP) comprises: inputting thechannel PDP into a neural network to produce an error distribution; andcomputing a likelihood of the metric based on the error distribution.

In some aspects, receiving the enhanced positioning measurementcomprises receiving results of the measurement of a metric and a mean,standard deviation, probability, and/or probability distributionassociated with the metric.

In some aspects, the mean, standard deviation, probability, and/orprobability distribution associated with the metric are reported via anadditional path report.

In some aspects, the mean, standard deviation, probability, and/orprobability distribution associated with the metric are reported via anew field in the additional path report.

In some aspects, the mean, standard deviation, probability, and/orprobability distribution associated with the metric are reported viareuse of an existing field in the additional path report.

In some aspects, reuse of an existing field in the additional pathreport comprises reuse of a Timing Quality field in the additional pathreport.

In some aspects, receiving the enhanced positioning measurementcomprises receiving a probability associated with a metric as aprobability mass function over predefined bin ranges, at least oneparameter of a Gaussian mixture distribution, a list of percentilevalues of the metric for pre-defined percentiles, or some combinationthereof.

In some aspects, the network entity comprises a base station.

In an aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes means for receiving, from anetwork entity, a request to report an enhanced positioning measurement;means for determining an enhanced measurement period based on theenhanced positioning measurement; means for performing an enhancedpositioning measurement using the enhanced measurement period; and meansfor reporting the enhanced positioning measurement to the network entityaccording to the determined enhanced measurement period.

In an aspect, a base station includes means for sending, to a userequipment (UE), a request for an enhanced positioning measurement; meansfor determining an enhanced measurement period based on the enhancedpositioning measurement; and means for receiving, from the UE, anenhanced positioning measurement.

In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer-executable instructions includes at least one instructioninstructing a user equipment (UE) to receive, from a network entity, arequest to report an enhanced positioning measurement; at least oneinstruction instructing a user equipment (UE) to determine an enhancedmeasurement period based on the enhanced positioning measurement; atleast one instruction instructing a user equipment (UE) to perform anenhanced positioning measurement using the enhanced measurement period;and at least one instruction instructing a user equipment (UE) to sendthe enhanced positioning measurement to the network entity according tothe determined enhanced measurement period.

In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer-executable instructions includes at least one instructioninstructing a network entity to send, to a user equipment (UE), arequest for an enhanced positioning measurement; at least oneinstruction instructing a network entity to determine an enhancedmeasurement period based on the enhanced positioning measurement; and atleast one instruction instructing a network entity to receive, from theUE, an enhanced positioning measurement.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that information and signalsmay be represented using any of a variety of different technologies andtechniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information,signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout theabove description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof.

Further, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm stepsdescribed in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may beimplemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinationsof both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware andsoftware, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits,and steps have been described above generally in terms of theirfunctionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware orsoftware depends upon the particular application and design constraintsimposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement thedescribed functionality in varying ways for each particular application,but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing adeparture from the scope of the present disclosure.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented orperformed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor(DSP), an ASIC, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or otherprogrammable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform thefunctions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be amicroprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be anyconventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. Aprocessor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices,for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality ofmicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSPcore, or any other such configuration.

The methods, sequences and/or algorithms described in connection withthe aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in asoftware module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two.A software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flashmemory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, aremovable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known inthe art. An example storage medium is coupled to the processor such thatthe processor can read information from, and write information to, thestorage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integralto the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in anASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). In thealternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discretecomponents in a user terminal.

In one or more example aspects, the functions described may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on ortransmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computerstorage media and communication media including any medium thatfacilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Astorage media may be any available media that can be accessed by acomputer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readablemedia can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical diskstorage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or anyother medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code inthe form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed bya computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readablemedium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website,server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologiessuch as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiberoptic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such asinfrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium.Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc,optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray discwhere disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproducedata optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also beincluded within the scope of computer-readable media.

While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects of thedisclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modificationscould be made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosureas defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps and/or actionsof the method claims in accordance with the aspects of the disclosuredescribed herein need not be performed in any particular order.Furthermore, although elements of the disclosure may be described orclaimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation tothe singular is explicitly stated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, performed by a user equipment (UE), forperforming an enhanced positioning measurement, the method comprising:receiving, from a network entity, a request to provide an enhancedpositioning measurement report comprising a positioning measurement andfurther comprising a report of components of a channel power delayprofile (PDP), a report of a probability distribution of times ofarrival (ToA), or both; determining an enhanced measurement periodrequired by the UE to perform the enhanced positioning measurement,wherein the enhanced measurement period is longer than a standardmeasurement period required by the UE to perform a non-enhancedpositioning measurement; performing the enhanced positioning measurementusing the enhanced measurement period; and providing the enhancedpositioning measurement report to the network entity.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein determining the enhanced measurement period comprisesdetermining the enhanced measurement period by multiplying the standardmeasurement period by a constant factor, adding a constant time to thestandard measurement period, or a combination thereof.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the standard measurement period is calculated as afunction of a number of samples to be measured by the UE and whereindetermining the enhanced measurement period comprises increasing thenumber of samples to be measured by the UE compared to the standardmeasurement period.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the standardmeasurement period is calculated as a function of a number ofpositioning reference signal resources that the UE can process per slotand wherein determining the enhanced measurement period comprisesreducing the number of positioning reference signal resources that theUE can process per slot compared to the standard measurement period. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein the standard measurement period iscalculated as a function of a number of PRS symbols N that the UE canprocess per unit time and wherein determining the enhanced measurementperiod comprises reducing a number of PRS symbols N that the UE canprocess per unit time, increasing the unit time required for the UE toprocess N PRS symbols, or both, compared to the standard measurementperiod.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein: performing the enhancedpositioning measurement using the enhanced measurement period furthercomprises calculating a mean, a standard deviation, a probability, aprobability distribution, or a combination thereof, associated with ametric, wherein the metric comprises a ToA, a reference signal timedelay (RSTD), or a channel PDP; and providing the enhanced positioningmeasurement report comprises reporting results of the measurement of themetric and the mean, the standard deviation, the probability, theprobability distribution, or the combination thereof, associated withthe metric.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein performing the enhancedpositioning measurement using the enhanced measurement period comprises:performing a plurality of measurements of the metric; determining theprobability distribution of each of the plurality of measurements; anddetermining a likelihood of the metric based on a combination of theprobability distributions.
 8. A method, performed by a network entity,for performing an enhanced positioning measurement, the methodcomprising: sending, to a user equipment (UE), a request to provide anenhanced positioning measurement report comprising a positioningmeasurement and further comprising a report of components of a channelpower delay profile (PDP), a report of a probability distribution oftimes of arrival (ToA), or both; determining an enhanced measurementperiod required by the UE to perform the enhanced positioningmeasurement, wherein the enhanced measurement period is longer than astandard measurement period required by the UE to perform a non-enhancedpositioning measurement; and receiving, from the UE, the enhancedpositioning measurement report.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereindetermining the enhanced measurement period comprises determining theenhanced measurement period by multiplying the standard measurementperiod by a constant factor, adding a constant time to the standardmeasurement period, or a combination thereof.
 10. The method of claim 8,wherein receiving the enhanced positioning measurement report comprisesreceiving results of the measurement of a metric and a mean, a standarddeviation, a probability, a probability distribution, or a combinationthereof, associated with the metric.
 11. The method of claim 8, whereinreceiving the enhanced positioning measurement report comprisesreceiving results of the measurement of a metric and a channel PDPassociated with the measurement, wherein the metric comprises a ToA, areference signal time delay (RSTD), or a channel PDP, and calculating amean, a standard deviation, a probability, a probability distribution,or a combination thereof, associated with the metric.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, comprising determining the probability distribution of themetric.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein determining the probabilitydistribution of the metric comprises determining the probabilitydistribution of the metric based on the channel PDP.
 14. A userequipment (UE), comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and atleast one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the atleast one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to:receive, via the at least one transceiver, from a network entity, arequest to provide an enhanced positioning measurement report comprisinga positioning measurement and further comprising a report of componentsof a channel power delay profile (PDP), a report of a probabilitydistribution of times of arrival (ToA), or both; determine an enhancedmeasurement period required by the UE to perform the enhancedpositioning measurement, wherein the enhanced measurement period islonger than a standard measurement period required by the UE to performa non-enhanced positioning measurement; perform the enhanced positioningmeasurement using the enhanced measurement period; and provide theenhanced positioning measurement report to the network entity.
 15. TheUE of claim 14, wherein, to determine the enhanced measurement period,the at least one processor is configured to determine the enhancedmeasurement period by multiplying the standard measurement period by aconstant factor, adding a constant time to the standard measurementperiod, or a combination thereof.
 16. The UE of claim 14, wherein thestandard measurement period is calculated as a function of a number ofsamples to be measured by the UE and wherein determining the enhancedmeasurement period comprises increasing the number of samples to bemeasured by the UE compared to the standard measurement period.
 17. TheUE of claim 14, wherein the standard measurement period is calculated asa function of a number of positioning reference signal resources thatthe UE can process per slot and wherein determining the enhancedmeasurement period comprises reducing the number of positioningreference signal resources that the UE can process per slot compared tothe standard measurement period.
 18. The UE of claim 14, wherein thestandard measurement period is calculated as a function of a number ofPRS symbols N that the UE can process per unit time and whereindetermining the enhanced measurement period comprises reducing a numberof PRS symbols N that the UE can process per unit time, increasing theunit time required for the UE to process N PRS symbols, or both,compared to the standard measurement period.
 19. The UE of claim 14,wherein: perform the enhanced positioning measurement using the enhancedmeasurement period further comprises calculating a mean, a standarddeviation, a probability, a probability distribution, or a combinationthereof, associated with a metric, wherein the metric comprises a ToA, areference signal time delay (RSTD), or a channel PDP; and provide theenhanced positioning measurement report comprises reporting results ofthe measurement of the metric and the mean, the standard deviation, theprobability, the probability distribution, or the combination thereof,associated with the metric.
 20. The UE of claim 19, wherein, to performthe enhanced positioning measurement using the enhanced measurementperiod, the at least one processor is configured to: perform a pluralityof measurements of the metric; determine the probability distribution ofeach of the plurality of measurements; and determine a likelihood of themetric based on a combination of the probability distributions.
 21. Anetwork entity, comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and atleast one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the atleast one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: send,via the at least one transceiver, to a user equipment (UE), a request toprovide an enhanced positioning measurement report comprising apositioning measurement and further comprising a report of components ofa channel power delay profile (PDP), a report of a probabilitydistribution of times of arrival (ToA), or both; determine an enhancedmeasurement period required by the UE to perform the enhancedpositioning measurement, wherein the enhanced measurement period islonger than a standard measurement period required by the UE to performa non-enhanced positioning measurement; and receive, via the at leastone transceiver, from the UE, the enhanced positioning measurementreport.
 22. The network entity of claim 21, wherein, to determine theenhanced measurement period, the at least one processor is configured todetermine the enhanced measurement period by multiplying the standardmeasurement period by a constant factor, adding a constant time to thestandard measurement period, or a combination thereof.
 23. The networkentity of claim 21, wherein, to receive the enhanced positioningmeasurement report, the at least one processor is configured to receiveresults of the measurement of a metric and a mean, a standard deviation,a probability, a probability distribution, or a combination thereof,associated with the metric.
 24. The network entity of claim 21, whereinreceiving the enhanced positioning measurement report comprisesreceiving results of the measurement of a metric and a channel PDPassociated with the measurement, wherein the metric comprises a ToA, areference signal time delay (RSTD), or a channel PDP, and calculating amean, a standard deviation, a probability, a probability distribution,or a combination thereof, associated with the metric.
 25. The networkentity of claim 24, comprising determining the probability distributionof the metric.
 26. The network entity of claim 25, wherein, to determinethe probability distribution of the metric, the at least one processoris configured to determine the probability distribution of the metricbased on the channel PDP.
 27. A user equipment (UE), comprising: meansfor receiving, from a network entity, a request to provide an enhancedpositioning measurement report comprising a positioning measurement andfurther comprising a report of components of a channel power delayprofile (PDP), a report of a probability distribution of times ofarrival (ToA), or both; means for determining an enhanced measurementperiod required by the UE to perform the enhanced positioningmeasurement, wherein the enhanced measurement period is longer than astandard measurement period required by the UE to perform a non-enhancedpositioning measurement; means for performing the enhanced positioningmeasurement using the enhanced measurement period; and means forproviding the enhanced positioning measurement report to the networkentity.
 28. A network entity, comprising: means for sending, to a userequipment (UE), a request to provide an enhanced positioning measurementreport comprising a positioning measurement and further comprising areport of components of a channel power delay profile (PDP), a report ofa probability distribution of times of arrival (ToA), or both; means fordetermining an enhanced measurement period required by the UE to performthe enhanced positioning measurement, wherein the enhanced measurementperiod is longer than a standard measurement period required by the UEto perform a non-enhanced positioning measurement; and means forreceiving, from the UE, the enhanced positioning measurement report. 29.A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UEto: receive, from a network entity, a request to provide an enhancedpositioning measurement report comprising a positioning measurement andfurther comprising a report of components of a channel power delayprofile (PDP), a report of a probability distribution of times ofarrival (ToA), or both; determine an enhanced measurement periodrequired by the UE to perform the enhanced positioning measurement,wherein the enhanced measurement period is longer than a standardmeasurement period required by the UE to perform a non-enhancedpositioning measurement; perform the enhanced positioning measurementusing the enhanced measurement period; and provide the enhancedpositioning measurement report to the network entity.
 30. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by a network entity, cause the networkentity to: send, to a user equipment (UE), a request to provide anenhanced positioning measurement report comprising a positioningmeasurement and further comprising a report of components of a channelpower delay profile (PDP), a report of a probability distribution oftimes of arrival (ToA), or both; determine an enhanced measurementperiod required by the UE to perform the enhanced positioningmeasurement, wherein the enhanced measurement period is longer than astandard measurement period required by the UE to perform a non-enhancedpositioning measurement; and receive, from the UE, the enhancedpositioning measurement report.